Soulmates
by demoncommander
Summary: What would you do, if you were cursed and the only person who can un-curse you doesn't know you exist? And you don't know who they are? This is the situation the three Uchihas are in right now. Yaoi warning, mostly SasuNaru, some KisaIta and ZetsTob, including other couples. Future lemon. AU. Enjoy!
1. Prologue

**Well, this is my first fanfic. EVER. So, I'm sorry if it's cheesy, I'm not used to writing a lot. But it's better than my drawings so...um...yeah. English is my second language, sorry for any mistakes. **

**WARNING: This story contains yaoi, boyxboy, shonen-ai, whatever you call it. This will be a SasuNaru story after all...Don't like it, don't read. This story also contains magic, ghosts, swearing etc...**

**Anyway, I know that Sasuke, Itachi and Tobi aren't the youngest Uchihas but in my story they are. Also, because some people still argue over Tobi being Madara or Obito, then Tobi's actual name in my story will be Tobi. **

**Any tips or ideas will be welcome. I have a general story-line planned out, but it can be tweaked around a bit...**

**Disclamer :I don't own Naruto in anyway except a keychain :3 Not the same though...**

**Now, ONWARD WITH THE STORY!**

Some people believe in ghosts. Some people have supposedly seen ghosts. But almost no-one could say that they _are_ ghosts.

_Almost_ no-one.

These people who could say that they are ghosts, right now included the three Uchihas. Two brothers, Itachi and Sasuke and their cousin Tobi. Itachi had inherited the Uchiha mansion after their parents death. Sasuke lived there anyway and since Tobi had been kicked out of his house, Itachi had invited the Uchiha to live with them in the mansion.

''This is ridiculous, we aren't even dead!'' Tobi, the oldest of the three Uchihas, was ranting in their mansion's livingroom. Itachi was sitting in his favorite black leather armchair in the corner, watching Tobi pace in circles on the wooden floor. Sasuke was standing in front of the fireplace, hands in his suit pockets.

''Hn.'' his cousins Itachi and Sasuke gave him the usual Uchiha reply.

After all, they really weren't dead, despite the fact that all three of them were now spirits. It was difficult to believe that the three Uchihas were alive right now.

''This is all your fault Sasuke! If you had just accepted Orochimaru's offer, we would still be alive!''

''We _are_ alive! And don't you blame me! I am NEVER going to agree to...to.._.that._ And how was I supposed to know he could use that curse?'' Sasuke shouted, letting his anger get the best of him.

Tobi and Itachi stared at him. Despite Sasuke being 16, he was usually much calmer.

Sasuke rubbed his eyes and sighed. He was really getting irritated. ''Sorry.'' he muttered softly.

Itachi nearly fell out of his chair and Tobi stopped pacing. Sasuke had just apologised. He had just apologised the first time in years. Sasuke was not the type of person to say sorry easily.

''Well, now what? Are we going to stay here forever, or go find them?'' Tobi broke the silence.

''Hn. How much time did we have for this?'' Itachi turned to Sasuke.

''Exactly seven years.''

Tobi turned to face his younger cousin. ''Why seven?''

''Don't know. Seven is a mysterious number.'' Itachi replied woodenly.

''So is thirteen but we were given seven.'' Tobi mumbled.

''You honestly think you could spend thirteen years looking for them?''

''In our current state, yes. Not everyone can see us now. And those who can, might not be them. Besides, now that we aren't visible by all people, we can do all kinds of things. I have always wanted to go to Disneyland.'' Tobi continued.

Itachi and Sasuke smirked at their older cousin. Despite the fact that Tobi had turned 20 a while ago, he was the most childish of the three.

''Hn. You taking your mask with you?'' Sasuke snickered.

Tobi glared at Sasuke. ''You. Be. Quiet. And yes, I will take it. ''

Itachi sighed in his armchair. It was late and he was getting tired.'''Well, I say that we should leave tomorrow morning. Unless we want to fade, we should find them. I don't know about you, but I want to be human again."

''Hn.''replied the two ravens.

Itachi stood up from his chair and started walking towards the door.

''Well, I bid you goodnight dear relatives.''

''Hn.''

Tobi watched as the oak door swung shut behind Itachi and sighed. Sasuke turned towards his older cousin and gave him a quizzical look. Tobi was usually happy and talkative, seeing him worried was something strange.

''What's wrong?'' Sasuke asked after a while.

''Oh, just...I don't know...What if we don't find them? What happens if only two of us find them? Or what happens if Orochimaru lied and we still fade? There's just too many problems right now.''Tobi replied while burying his face in his hands, causing the last sentence to come out muffled.

Sasuke tilted his head a bit and looked at the raven. He walked next to the older Uchiha and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

''We'll find them. All of us. We are Uchihas. Uchihas always get what they want. Right now we want them. So, we will get them, no matter what. If we have to travel the whole world, we will. They are there somewhere.'' Sasuke finished.

Tobi just stared at him.

''...What?'' Sasuke asked quickly. He was getting slightly uneasy with Tobi looking at him like that. Tobi was usually known as a cheerful person but truthfully, he could be very strange at times, and no-one actually knew a lot about him, or why he was kicked out of his house . The younger Uchihas knew well to not piss him off. They didn't know what Tobi was capable of doing, and honestly, they didn't want to know. Everybody was scared of the Uchihas.

''Nothing, it's just that I haven't heard you talk that much in a long time. What's next, reciting poems?'' Tobi smirked.

Sasuke glared at him. ''I just gave you a supposedly nice speech and you do that. You are a fucking jerk. I'm going to bed.''

Tobi pouted childishly. ''Calling someone a jerk is not nice, I'm not even mentioning the swearing. Why don't you be a good boy like Tobi?'' Sasuke sighed and started walking towards the door. He wondered often if Tobi was actually insane, there was no way that a normal 19 year old person would act like this. As Sasuke opened the doors, Tobi turned towards the younger Uchiha. ''Goooood niiiiggghhttt!'' he exclaimed in a sing-song voice. Sasuke gave him a sidewards glance and strolled out of the door without a word.

Tobi watched him leave the room, then flung himself into an armchair with an irritated huff. He glanced at his Rolex wristwatch and sighed. It was almost 2am, meaning that the three Uchihas had been talking for nearly four hours now. Tobi rubbed his eyes and slumped back in his armchair. The day had been long and eventful, at least in his opinion. '_And to think we were ordinary people less than 24 hours ago'_ Tobi thought to himself and chuckled. He rubbed his eyes again and yawned, feeling suddenly very tired. The raven sat in the armchair for a moment longer, wondering if it would be reasonable to fall asleep in it. Deciding it wasn't a good idea, he rose slowly from the comfortable seat and stretched, his back popping. He started walking towards the door, his shoes clicking on the polished floor. Before closing the door, he flipped the light-switch and gave the living-room one last look. He wouldn't be returning here for a while.

**Well then, the prolog! I hope you enjoyed it. Any reviews will be helpful. Thanks for reading!**

**Errr... I don't actually know what to write now...Bye!**


	2. The Curse

**Well then, the first chapter! I hoped you liked the prolog...This chapter is where I explain a lot of stuff...oh well...**

**Anyway, this has already happened, Sasuke is just remembering it. And the words in _bold italic_ are Sasuke's thoughts. Just so you know.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it...sorry...**

_''...What?'' Sasuke whispered shocked, hoping he had heard Orochimaru wrong. There was no way he was agreeing to something like that. The only thing that kept him from punching the older man and running for his life, was the small fact of being tied to a chair in Orochimaru's house._

_''Oh, I think you heard me very well. Either come live with me, or...'' Orochimaru smirked. He had the youngest Uchiha exactly where he wanted. There was no way he could refuse his offer. His plan was foolproof—Uchihas had lots of pride, and Sasuke wasn't especially fond of his relatives, but he surely loved them enough than risk their and his own lives in a gamble. Not even he was that selfish._

_Sasuke seemed to think through his options. Neither one was good._

_Option 1: Be legally adopted by Orochimaru. Most likely get molested or raped on a daily basis. Never see Itachi or Tobi again. Live in a house which smelled like snakes, mold and damp for the rest of his life. His only companions being the perverted man, his assistant Kab-something* and sometime's a few of Orochimaru's guests. Conclusion: A TERRIBLE option._

_Option 2: Be freed and have a curse placed on all three of the Uchihas. A curse which turns you into a ghost, without killing you. In order not to die, the curse can be lifted during seven years by finding your soulmate to spend the rest of your life with. Most people can't see you. It also had a twist. If the curse is put on many people, unless all the cursed have found their partner, all the cursed and their soul mates will die. Conclusion: Still a terrible option._

_Sasuke grit his teeth and thought hard. If he chose living with Orochimaru, the snake-like man would soon make his miserable. If he chose the curse, all of their lives would be at risk, including the future soul mates. _

_Orochimaru smirked as he watched the Uchiha struggle with his options. He strolled over__ to the chair, which currently held Sasuke captive. ''Well, have you made your decision?'' Orochimaru pulled on Sasuke's hair, forcing him to face the older male. _

_Sasuke stared into the yellow eyes with disgust. _

_''Hn. Curse us.''_

_Orochimaru looked like he had just been hit on the head with a brick. He regained his usual posture quickly. He pulled the soft locks back further (any more and Sasuke's neck would snap) and smirked. _

_"Are you sure? Don't you want to stay here with me? We could have so. Much. Fun. " While talking, he had lowered his voice to a husky whisper and crept his mouth closer to Sasuke's ear. His tongue flicked out and ran over the ravens earlobe. _

_Sasuke shuddered and began struggling against his bindings. He was really creeped out by the older man and he wanted to get away as quickly as possible. _

_" Yes. Let me go."_

_Orochimaru sighed and let go of Sasuke's hair. "You would rather risk killing yourself, your family and three people you may or may not already know than be with me?"_

_"That's what I said. Now let me go."Sasuke was squirming so much, that the ropes were cutting into his wrists. _

_Orochimaru shrugged. "Hey, it might be your funeral."He fished a black cellphone out of his pocket and flipped it open._

_"Wow, a flip-phone. Didn't know they made those anymore."Sasuke smirked at the man's old-fashioned phone. _

_Orochimaru shot him a nasty glare and dialled a number. "Just because you have money doesn't mean that everybody else does." he commented while waiting for the other person to pick up. _

_"Ah, Kabuto. Bring up the scrolls." Orochimaru said to the phone. _

_Talking on the other end. _

_"What do you mean, the papers were mixed up? I asked for the scrolls, not the papers. If I wanted the papers, I would have called Karin." _

_More talking._

_"No, they never do. She dosen't know how, and the everybody else is lazy." Orochimaru grumbled into the phone. He stayed silent for a while, listening to Kabuto explain something._

_"Well of course. You could take care of that." Orochimaru suddenly smiled cruelly. _

_"That can be arranged as well. Now, unless you wish to be one of them, bring the scrolls up. W__e have work to do." Orochimaru shut the phone and kept it in his hand for a moment. "Kabuto is coming in a minute. " he informed the raven._

_The older man slipped his phone into his pocket and pulled out a silver switchblade. He clicked it open and started walking towards Sasuke. The Uchiha saw the blade and stiffened. He had not considered the fact that Orochimaru might have weapons. Besides his tongue._

_"Re~laaax, I'm just gonna untie you. You have to be standing during the ritual." Orochimaru stated_

_matter-of-factly. He watched Sasuke's eyes flicker towards the door and he smirked. _

_"Don't bother running, I have people outside the door, you'll be caught in a heartbeat. Unlike me, they aren't very nice. " he said lazily. _

_He reached Sasuke and knelt down. Orochimaru hummed as he cut at the ropes. Sasuke felt the bindings fall to the ground and he stretched his arms. He got up slowly, rubbing his wrists to get the blood flowing and winced. The knife had sliced his skin in a few places and now blood was seeping from the wounds. _

_"Sorry, I'm not very good with knives." Orochimaru said apologetically wiping off and pocketing the blade. "Kabuto usually deals with the weapons."_

_Sasuke gave him a stoic look, then proceeded to look around the room they were in. Besides the chair, there wasn't much furniture. The walls were unpainted and covered in dozens of shelves. The shelves held jars filled with strange contents-some had small objects floating in amber liquid, others seemed to contain wisps of smoke, swirling against the glass. A rickety white table stood in the corner, covered in scribbled-full papers. A single lightbulb hung from the ceiling, casting shadows at strange angles. Overall, the room had a creepy and abandoned aura, it looked like a laboratory from a horror movie. _

_The door opened with a creak, directing Sasuke's attention to the man who entered. The man wore round glasses, his black eyes observing the young Uchiha. Although he didn't seem very old, the man had gray hair which was pulled back into a ponytail. His arms were full of ancient-looking scrolls._

_"This is Kabuto. He'll be the one conducting the procedure." _

_**So this is Kabuto. He looks more like a family dad than a mad professor.**_

_"Good day. I promise it won't last very long." Kabuto said with a smile. Sasuke noted that the man sounded excited. His voice had a sadistic undertone and his eyes glinted dangerously. _

_**I take that back. He is completely mad professor material. **_

_Kabuto set the scrolls on the table and walked to the center of the room. He moved the chair to the side. The cut up pieces of rope soon joined the chair. The gray-haired man took a piece of chalk from his pocket and started sketching on the ground. Sasuke and Orochimaru watched together as Kabuto drew with extreme percision. Soon, he finished the drawing and stood back to admire his handiwork. The finished symbol had three commas inside a smokey-edged circle.**_

_"This is the curse seal. A small one will also appear on your body, usually the shoulder. Only the one originally cursed will be marked, meaning that your relatives will only be turned into ghosts." Kabuto explained hurriedly to Sasuke. _

_The raven nodded once. _

_"Alright, please stand in the middle." Kabuto instructed._

_Sasuke did as he was told. Kabuto stood outside the circle, making sure he had drawn all the lines correctly. After all, the last time a curse seal was drawn wrong, the results had been very...unusual. He wasn't still very sure if he had discovered all of the side-effects on the boy he had tested the spell on. And Orochimaru wanted Sasuke as unharmed as possible._

_Kabuto picked up a scroll and unravelled it. A small cloud of dust rose from the surface. He cleared his throat._

_"Orochimaru sir, you might want to stand outside the circle." Kabuto remarked dryly. The long-haired raven looked at his feet and noticed that he had indeed been standing inside the curse mark. He walked over to Kabuto, who cleared his throat__again. _

_"Now then, let's begin. " Kabuto pushed up his glasses which had slipped down his nose and adjusted the scroll in his hands. Sasuke clenched his hands and braced himself for the unknown. _

_"Bagabi laca bachabe_

_Lamc cahi achababe_

_Karrelyos_

_Lamac lamec Bachalyas_

_Cabahagy sabalyos_

_Baryolas_

_Lagoz atha cabyolas_

_Samahac et famyolas_

_Harrahya" ***_

_Kabuto finished the monotone chanting, his words left ringing in the room. Nothing seemed to happen._

_Suddenly, Sasuke fell over. His shoulder felt like it was on fire. He clawed at it, hoping to affect the__ pain in any way. The Uchiha tried to stand up, but his legs wouldn't listen. His whole body had gone numb, except for the pain in his shoulder, which now felt like someone was slowly slicing open his skin and gouging out the flesh underneath. His vision swam, spots appeared in front of his eyes. Sasuke's ears were pounding, it felt like someone was using a jackhammer next to him. The pain spread, including his head and upper body as well. Sasuke mustered all his strength and turned his head towards Kabuto. The man was shouting from the top of his lungs. Sasuke couldn't hear him. The edges of his vision were going black, and all he felt was pain. The last thing he saw was a jar containing a shrunken human head. _

_**That looks like my head.** went through Sasuke's thoughts. _

_Then he closed his eyes and let the darkness engulf him._

***This was on purpose. Sasuke was too lazy to remember Kabuto's name when Orochimaru first said it.**

****Yes, it's the actual curse seal.**

*****This was a chant I found on the internet. I have no idea what it means, it won't translate to any language ._.**

**Yay for the new chapter! Actually, the first and second chapters were originally one chapter. But when I finished and read it through, I was like 'Nah, too long.' 8 pages on Openoffice ._.**

**Well, that's it folks! Hoped you liked it! I'll update as soon as I can!**


	3. Leaving

**Yay new chapter! Hope you have liked it so far...**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it...**

The youngest Uchiha bolted upright in his bed. His heart was racing and his breathing was coming in gasps. Sasuke ran a shaking hand through his hair, his fingers snagging on the tangles. Gradually, his breathing evened out and his heartbeat slowed down. But thoughts continued flicking through the raven's head with abnormal speed. Sasuke sighed, finally calm, and lay back into the mattress. He turned to the nightstand beside his bed and looked at his alarm-clock.

It was 5.32 am.

_Heh, I was still human less than 24 hours ago._

Sasuke raised his hands in front of his face. They seemed pretty solid, yet sunlight shone through. So they weren't solid. Sasuke let his hands fall to his sides. He glanced at the clock again. 5.33am.

_Well, I'm not gonna get much sleep anymore...Might as well get up..._

Sasuke swung his legs over the bed edge. His neck gave anaudible pop as he tilted his head. He got to his feet and stumbled to his desk, sinking into the chair next to it. The Uchiha sighed. He was tired, but not tired enough to go back to sleep.

_I should decide where to go. The world is a big place, and it will take time to find my partner._

Sasuke had somewhat figured out how to touch things in his current state. He had to concentrate on his body being "solid" and then he could pick up and move things. It was a bit tricky; if he lost his concentration too early, he would drop whatever he was holding. If he concentrated too late, his hand would get stuck in the object.

Currently, the Uchiha was trying to open a desk-drawer

_God. Fucking. Dammit. Whoever invented these should die._ Sasuke thought furiously as his hand passed through the knob for the upteenth time. As if sensing his thoughts, the drawer opened slightly. Sasuke concentrated on his hand and pulled the drawer open. Inside it was a map of the world. Sasuke pulled it out with some difficulty and set it on the desk.

_Where should I go? I could stay here in Konoha...yeah, right. I don't know where Itachi is going . And Tobi is going to...Disneyland? The fuck, Tobi?..._

Sasuke stretched and looked around his room. It was pretty big,( they did live in a mansion after all..). His room was dark blue, with touches of black. It defiantly gave off a 'Sasuke' feeling. The furniture was pretty, yet simple; a wooden bed with a dark blue bed-set, a black nightstand, a TV, a desk and chair and finally, a walk-in closet. Where he was heading now.

Sasuke tried to open the closet doors. Failing three times, he chose to walk through them instead, remembering that he could do that now. Once inside the closet, he succeeded in turning the light on. He looked around among the clothes, trying to remember why exactly he had come in there.

_Oh, right. There's a mirror in here._

Sasuke strolled deeper into his closet to find the mirror. The idea of not showing up in it seemed like a stupid idea, but Sasuke had to be sure. He didn't want to travel around not seeing himself.

The Uchiha cared a lot about his apparence. That's why the Uchiha was somewhat relieved to find his reflection in the full-body mirror. It was a lot paler than before and Sasuke could just barely see shelves and clothes through his body. So he was a bit transparent. Big deal.

Sasuke Uchiha had godlike features. All the Uchihas did, though Tobi often hid himself behind his mask. Pale skin, dark hair and seemingly bottomless black eyes were trademark looks. Everyone in the Uchiha family was like that, including Sasuke's and Itachi's parents- Mikoto and Fugaku.

Mikoto and Fugaku had died in a car crash a few years ago. Itachi was 15 at the time, Sasuke only 13. Their parents will stated that the Uchiha mansion would go to Itachi the moment he turned 18. Until then, they would have a guardian-an old family friend- Kakashi Hatake. Kakashi was a peculiar man. Despite that, he had taken good care of the two Uchihas until Itachi's 18th birthday earlier that year. After that, he moved in with his boyfriend, Iruka Umino, and Sasuke hadn't heard from him since.

Sasuke turned in front of the mirror, looking at the suit he was wearing. It was wrinkled from sleeping in it.

_Can I change clothes or do I have to wear this suit until I'm turned back?_ Sasuke asked himself. He hadn't thought about it last night. When he had come back into his room, he had been so tired that he had just flopped onto his bed and fallen asleep, suit and all. But now...

Sasuke pulled off his jacket and let it fall to the floor. The moment the material left his hands, it turned materialistic.

_Well that's strange..._

The raven undid a few buttons on his shirt, then stopped. He wanted to be sure if he could put clothes on again. It wouldn't be any good if he went traveling without a shirt or any pants. Or worse, completely naked. He tried picking up the jacket, and succeeded in a few tries. He slung it over one arm, while re-buttoning his shirt. Sasuke put his arms through the sleeves, like always. Except it wouldn't be like always if the jacket fell through him. Which it didn't.

_Well then. I can change clothes. At least one good thing. Besides not needing to eat. _That was true. The Uchihas had been changed yesterday morning, and none of them had felt hungry so far.

_I'd better change. And pack some spare clothes. _Sasuke turned to his closet, un-buttoning his shirt again. He let the jacket fall to the ground again, already running his handsover new clothes.

Sasuke left his room at 8 am. He was now wearing a black t-shirt with a white opened-up jacket on top, a pair of slim black jeans and dark-blue Converse sneakers. He was pulling a small black suitcase, filled with some more clothes.

Sasuke had discovered an interesting thing in his room. When he put on a new clothing item, it would gradually grow transparent on his body again. It reminded him of a chameleon. At least he didn't have to worry about his clothes being visible in public. That would cause panic, and the Uchiha didn't want too much attention.

Everyone agreed that the Uchiha was hot. It wasn't just girls who clung to him; some boys also belonged to his fanbase, hoping to get into his pants for a night. Few of them succeeded. Sasuke was very picky with whom he slept with. It wasn't the matter of gender. Sasuke counted himself bisexual, sleeping with both girls and boys. It was just that most of the people weren't good enough in his opinion. And he wanted only the best.

Sasuke made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Itachi and Tobi already sat there on high stools. Both had small suitcases at their feet. Sasuke noted that they had also changed clothes. Tobi grinned at his younger cousin as Sasuke sat down.

"So. Where are you gonna go?" Tobi asked Sasuke.

Sasuke shrugged." I have a few ideas." That was only half true. He was planning on taking a bus out of town, after that he had no clue where to go.

Tobi pouted. "You're the same as Itachi. Why won't you two tell me where you're going?"

Itachi looked at his watch. "I have to go soon. My train leaves in half an hour."

"Oh, so you're traveling by train! I' m catchin' a bus to the airport. Hooray for planes!" Tobi exclaimed happily.

Itachi glared at him. He hadn't gotten much sleep at night, and now Tobi's enthusiastic chatter was giving him a headache. Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Tobi can you be a good boy and please be quiet for a while, I need to talk. " Itachi clenched his teeth.

"Oki-doki Itachi!"

Itachi gave Tobi another deathstare and cleared his throat. "We have seven years. I think we should meet back here in five. Any questions?" he asked the other Uchihas.

"...Why?"

Itachi mentally sighed again. Tobi sure wasn't very smart for a 20 year old Uchiha. Either that, or he was pretending.

"Because, if one of us doesn't find our soulmate in five years, the others can help. We know each others preferences. Sasuke is bi, Tobi switches,* and I'm gay."

"Oh... Hey Itachi?"

"Hn?"

"Didn't you have a train to catch?"

"...Damn it, I need to go" Itachi swore getting off his stool.

Sasuke stood up. "I should start going too. I have to get to the bus station."

"Oh, oh, Tobi too! The plane's gonna leave soon!" the third Uchiha chimed in happily. Tobi slipped a bright orange mask on his face and hopped off his stool.

Both Sasuke and Itachi stared at him.

"Tobi...where did you get your mask? You weren't holding it when I came into the kitchen." Sasuke asked, clearly confused.

"Suitcase!"

"Oh..." Sasuke mumbled. He wasn't still sure how Tobi had gotten the mask; he hadn't seen Tobi so much as look at his suitcase.

"I have to go. If you two are leaving now as well, I'll lock the door." Itachi said already pulling his suitcase towards the kitchen door.

Sasuke and Tobi grabbed their own suitcases and followed Itachi through the doorway. None of them looked back.

The three Uchihas made their way out of the mansion. Nobody said a word as Itachi locked the door and hung the key from a small nail above the doorframe. The silence continued as they walked down the driveway leading to the mansion.

They stood outside the iron gates, looking at the mansion. The old stone building now looked gloomy. It was the only place they had really ever called 'home'. And now they had to leave it and travel to other places. All three if them suddenly felt very small.

Tobi broke the silence. " We should go. "

Itachi tore his eyes from the house. "Yeah, we should...''

If Sasuke hadn't looked at Itachi's face, he could have sworn that his brother was crying.

Tobi hadn't been looking at Itachi. He heard the sad voice and dropped his suitcase to pull the raven into a hug. "Don't cry Itachi. Let's go find our soulmates to make us happy."

"Hn." Itachi didn't bother telling Tobi that he wasn't crying. He really did need a hug, though he would rather saw off his legs than admit it.

Sasuke shuffled his feet awkwardly. He wasn't good with goodbyes. Tobi noticed him and bounded over. And gave him a hug as well. He let go of Sasuke and picked up his suitcase. The Uchiha's visible eye was filled with sadness. Sasuke felt a pang of guilt realizing that he had caused this situation.

The three Uchihas turned towards eachother.

"I guess that...this is goodbye. Live well."

"Hn. Goodbye dear relatives, I hope that you find your soulmates. I'll see you both in five years."

"See ya both soon! Don't die, okay? If you do I'll get very sad."

Sasuke scoffed at Tobi. "We can't die."

"Yeah...Well, bye then."

Sasuke, Itachi and Tobi looked at each other for the last time in the next five years, picked up their suitcases, and left.

If a spirit-watcher** had been on the street at the time, they would have witnessed three young males with heart-broken faces walking in different directions from the Uchiha mansion.

***one of the people I know actually does this. He changes his preferences when he gets bored. He may like only girls for about a month, then he gets bored and is interested in only men. I call him bi, he insists that he isn't. Confusing and crazy, I know. **

****this is how I'm going to call people who can see ghosts in my story. It sounds better than ghostseeer or spiritseeer. Though ghost-watcher has a ring to it, spirit-watcher sounds more mystical :3**

**This chapter was a pain to write. It took me a lot of time to decide how everybody would travel. For anybody who asks why, they are ghosts after all, everyone can't see them. So if I put them driving a car, it would seem like no-one was driving and it would cause lots of panic. Same with motorcycles, bikes etc. A taxi would have been strange. I mean, if you were a taxi driver, and you got a call to pick up a suitcase and drive it to the airport, what would you think? So yeah, public transportation it is.**


	4. Hello

**Yay, update!**

**You readers are really awesome, it makes me really happy seeing that someone actually even bothered reading this fic. Btw, happy belated birthday to one of the readers, I hope you had a nice one *cyberhug***

**Anyway, since school started for me again, I'll be updating once a week, maybe twice if I'm lucky enough.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto. If I did, things would be...different...**

**Enjoy and review if possible *3***

xXxXxXxXxXx

Kisame Hoshigaki was walking down the streets of Konoha. Most people who saw the man, stopped to look at him. Kisame was used to this. A tall, muscular figure with blue skin wasn't a common look.

Well, thats exactly what Itachi Uchiha was in love with. He loved Kisame's blue skin, his pointed teeth, his sweet attitude and the fact that Kisame loved him back.

A small smile curved Itachi's lips. Nobody but Kisame could see the Uchiha walking beside him. Itachi gave the blue hand he was holding a gentle squeeze and felt a jolt of happiness when his pale hand was squeezed in return.

A part of Itachi worried as well. About the others. About the curse. Itachi hoped that the others had found their soulmates. Deep in thought, he didn't notice Kisame was trying to get his attention until the blue man tapped on his shoulder. Itachi had learned to concentrate his being over the years, so now he could touch things like he could when he was still solid.

" 'Tachi? You there?"

"What is it?" Itachi asked, snapping out of his thoughts.

"If you wanna space out, go ahead, but tell me the address first. I don't know where to go." Kisame said with a grin.

Itachi stared at Kisame blankly for a moment, then shook his head.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit tired." he said meekly.

"I will never understand why you need to sleep but you don't need to eat." Kisame chuckled.

Itachi glared at him.

"Geez, calm down angel. No need to look so angry."

Itachi's eyes softened at his pet-name. Kisame had given him that nickname when they had first met each other in person.

"Angel? That's an ironic nickname for the devil." sounded an amused from behind them. Itachi's eyes widened at the familiar voice. He spun on his heel and came face-to-face with a widely smirking Sasuke Uchiha.

"Sasuke?" Itachi exclaimed, face growing red from embarrassment. That had been meant for Itachi's ears only.

"Nice to see you too Itachi." Sasuke's smirk widened. He put his hands in his jeans pockets and he leaned back. It was clear that he was enjoying himself.

Itachi noticed with a pang that Sasuke was alone.

"Did you find someone?" Itachi asked carefully. It wouldn't be good to anger him.

Sasuke's smirk vanished. He pulled his hands out his pockets and slowly shook his head. "No, not yet."

"...We still have two years time. You'll find someone." Itachi said sympathetically.

Kisame who had been watching them both, decided that now would be a good time to interrupt. "So you're Sasuke? Itachi's little brother? Itachi has talked a lot about you."

Sasuke gave Kisame a curious look and nodded. "You're with Itachi?"

"Yeah, name 's Kisame." The blue man replied. "And yeah, this is my natural skin color." he added quickly, noticing that Sasuke had opened his mouth to ask something.

"Actually, I was going to ask Itachi how he's been." Sasuke's smirk returned.

"Oh...Sorry, I just get asked that a lot." Kisame scratched the back of his head and fell silent.

"So how have you been?" Sasuke turned to Itachi.

"Fine." Itachi stated simply.

They walked a few minutes in silence. Kisame shifted uncomfortably. The air was thick with tension and he didn't like that. He opened his mouth to say something, but Itachi beat him to it.

"We're here." the older Uchiha broke the silence.

Indeed, they were standing in front of the familiar iron gate. The mansion at the end if the driveway looked exactly like the Uchihas remembered.

"We should wait for Tobi." Sasuke said blankly.

"Hn." Itachi agreed.

The three of them stood behind the gate, waiting for Tobi. Sasuke shuffled his feet, Itachi sent his watch occasional glances and Kisame let go of Itachi's hand to study the front gates.

Ten minutes later, Kisame suddenly spoke. "Hey guys, your last name was Uchiha, right?"

Itachi gave him a confused look and Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, why?" the younger raven answered the sudden question.

"Well, this mailbox says Uzumaki/Namikaze. " Kisame rose from the mailbox he had been looking at. He watched the ravens, as their mouthes dropped open in shock. Sasuke was the first to recover his voice.

"What? You're kidding, right?" he asked, absolutely bewildered.

"Wish I was."

The two Uchihas rushed over to look. The small printed label on the mailbox read simply: Uzumaki/Namikaze.

"They must have sold the mansion after we went missing." Itachi said; half to himself, half to the others.

"What do we do now?" Sasuke asked asked after an uncomfortable silence.

Itachi started after thinking for a bit. "Let's wait for Tobi and decide after th-."

He was cut off by shouting from the end of the street.

"DAMN IT TOBI GET BACK HERE! **WE'LL HIT YOU WITH A CAR IF YOU DON'T! **No we won't. **YES WE WILL! **NO WE WON'T BECAUSE WE LOVE TOBI AND WE DON'T HAVE A CAR! **True...** TOBI GET BACK HERE! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!"

The man seemed to be shouting at himself. As he got closer, the Uchihas and Kisame saw that he was chasing a familiar figure in an orange mask.

"...I'm guessing that is Tobi?" Kisame asked pointing at the masked person. Or ghost in this case.

"Hn."

The masked person seemed to notice them, because he let out an excited squeal and sped up. The next thing they knew, he had glomped Sasuke and Itachi.

"YOUGUYSAREALREADYHERETOBIMISSEDYOUSOMUCHDIDYOUHAV EAGOODTIMETOBIDIDTOBIHADLOTSOFFUNANDTOBIWASAGOODBO YTOBIWANTEDTOBRINGITACHIANDSASUKEPRESENTSBUTTOBIRA NOUTOFCASHANDTOBIDID'TWANTTOSTEALBECAUSETHENTOBIWO ULDN'TBEAGOODBOYANDTHEN..."* the masked person continued a high-pitched happy rambling while holding Itachi and Sasuke in a headlock.

"Yeah, this is defiantly Tobi." Sasuke's voice came out muffled, due to the fact that his face was being squished against Tobi's shoulder. Kisame watched as the two ravens tried to pry Tobi off themselves.

"GODDAMMIT TOBI, WE CAN'T BREATHE!" Sasuke roared suddenly. Tobi let go abruptly. The two Uchihas straightened up panting, and started smoothing their ruffled clothes and hair.

"Sorry!" Tobi squeaked apoligetically.

Meanwhile, the man who had been chasing Tobi finally reached them. His face was half-black-half-white, almost as if painted. The man's short green hair was littered with bits of popcorn, kernels and salt. His high collar reminded Sasuke of a flytrap.

"Tobi, **what the hell did I tell you about running off like that**?" the man wheezed, trying to catch his breath.

"But Tobi saw Itachi and Sasuke and had to go and say hello and hug them and say hello to their partners and meet them and"

"Okay, okay, I get your point. " the man cut off Tobi. "**That sentence had too many fucking 'and's in it.**'' he continued gruffly.

"Zetsu, don't swear!" Tobi whined.

"Sorry. **Are not. **Are too. **Why should we be? **Because Tobi doesn't want us to swear. **Tobi also dumped a bucket of popcorn on our head if you haven't noticed. **It was an accident. **He yelled 'FOR SEMPAI' and poured it**!...Oh yeah...I can't believe Deidara dared him to do that..." The man called 'Zetsu' started another argument with himself.

"Zetsu? Tobi's family is here too, if you need to argue with someone..." Tobi began sarcastically.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry." the green-haired man apologized, scratching the back of his neck. He walked up to the two Uchihas and Kisame and shook hands with all three.

"I'm Zetsu." the man introduced himself.

"I'm Kisame. I'm here with Itachi." Kisame said.

"I'm Itachi."

"Sasuke."

"Nice to meet you. **Yeah, you people seem normal. **At least you don't scream when I start talking. **I thought they would never shut up.**" Zetsu talked with two voices - a lower, gruff one and a lighter, mellow voice.

Tobi hopped around excitedly. "Let's go inside already! We have to show Kisame and Zetsu the mansion!"

Kisame and the two younger Uchihas looked at each other.

"Uh, Tobi? About that..." Sasuke looked at his feet and continued. "We kinda...don't own the mansion anymore..." Sasuke trailed off, watching Tobi's good mood deflate gradually.

"Oh." Tobi looked more surprised than sad. He scratched the back of his head. "Well, who does now?" Tobi asked the trio.

"A family called Uzumaki/Namikaze." Sasuke continued, surprised at how naturally Tobi had taken the news.

Zetsu spoke up." Well now what?" he asked the others.

"We should check into a hotel for now. I don't really feel like sleeping on the streets." Sasuke said.

Kisame and Itachi gave each other a sideways glance. The blue man sighed and spoke. "Itachi and I can't do that. I spent the last of my money on a airplane ticket here, so I'm completely broke."

Zetsu clasped his hands together. "Tobi and me have the same problem. **Since we didn't really ****think about the possibility of the mansion being sold,** long story short, we are also out of money. **We could rob a bank, **but that isn't a very good idea." he finished with a mysterious grin. " **I don't have any**** contacts in this city...**"he added really quietly.

_What the hell does that guy do for a living? _flashed through Sasuke's thoughts.

"So let me get this straight. All of you are broke?" Sasuke pointed at them.

"The Uchihas aren't technically broke, we just can't use the funds right now." Itachi shrugged.

"Why not?"

A sigh was heard from Zetsu. "Tobi, I thought I already explained this to you. **It would be suspicious as hell if a person missing for five years suddenly used their money which had been untouched the whole time.** The police would start investigating and before you know it,copscrawling EVERYWHERE, secrets uncovered, press notifiedlots of scandals, and somebody will most likely be arrested. **And I really don't want that to be me. **Okay?" Zetsu finished.

"Got it!" Tobi chirped happily.

Kisame and Sasuke blinked in surprise. Zetsu was a lot smarter than he looked.

"Well actually, I might be able to help." Itachi began. When everybody turned to look at the Uchiha, he sighed and continued. "I used to have a box filled with cash money in my room for emergencies. It might still be there, unless my room was renovated thoroughly. If it is, we could use the money to stay at a hotel."

Everybody was silent for a few moments. "What the hell, it's not like we have anything to lose from it. **I say we should try**."

Sasuke stared at Itachi. "You never told me about this box."

"You never asked."

Sasuke scoffed at his brother's answer.

"I'll see you soon." Everyone turned to see the Uchiha pass through the closed gates and continue going towards the mansion.

"You think it will be okay?" Kisame asked Sasuke.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked in return.

Instead of answering, Kisame frowned.

xXxXxXxXxXx

Itachi wandered the corridors of the mansion. To his relief, whoever lived in there now, had liked most of the original interior, replaceing only most of the furniture. Although, some of the rooms had been repainted.

_Atleast they didn't tear down the walls, _the raven thought as he climbed the stairs. He had liked the walls.

Itachi stood behind the door to his room, hesitant to go inside. The door had been replaced. He knew that he would have to open it instead of passing through it. If the money-box was there, he couldn't pass through the door with it later.

Itachi glanced around, making sure that nobody was in the hallway and prayed that the room would be empty as well. He held his breath and tried the doorknob. To his surprise, the door was locked. Itachi decided to enter the room and search for the key, or pick the lock if he couldn't find it.

Itachi walked through the door and shuddered. He hated walking through things. It always made his head spin. He closed his eyes to get rid of the unpleasant sensation. When he felt better, Itachi opened his eyes and looked around. It had been his bedroom once, now it looked like a study. A cluttered desk sat in the corner, barely visible under a mountain of papers and pens. Bookshelves covered most of the walls, stacks of papers sat on the ground. The floor and walls looked the same, meaning his room hadn't been renovated.

Itachi turned towards the door. The lock on it was simple; a dial could lock and unlock it from the inside. From the outside, it would have been done by a key. The Uchiha was a bit relieved that he wouldn't have to look for a key in the mess. He unlocked the door and pushed it open.

Itachi walked over to where his bed had once been; the scratches on the floor helped. There, he started knocking on the floorboards to find the one with a storage space under it. He had built that himself a long time ago.

_There! _Itachi thought victoriously as the knocking sounded hollow under his hands. He reached his fingernails into the cracks and pulled. The floorboard shifted slightly. Itachi turned his back to the doorway and propped himself on his knee for more leverage. He pulled again, the floorboard rising up a little bit. The Uchiha bit his lip and yanked on the board with more force than before. With a creak, the floorboard came off and Itachi lay it beside him.

The raven peered into the gaping space under the floorboard. It was pretty dark and dusty, but he could make out a shape in the bottom. Itachi reached into the storage space until he felt a box underneath his hands. He grabbed it and pulled it out of the hole. The Uchiha studied the box in the light streaming in from the windows. It was dirty, yet the lock was untouched and the box felt heavy.

_So nobody found it after all._ Itachi sighed in relief and started cleaning off the grime. Once the box was clean, he pulled it into his lap and took out a small silver key from his pocket. He had kept it safe for five years, now he wanted to check on the box. The lock clicked as Itachi turned the key. The Uchiha put his hands on the top lid.

"Um, can I help you?" a male voice asked politely.

Itachi froze and turned his face towards the person in the doorway.

xXxXxXxXxXx

***you guys are already here, Tobi missed you so much. Did you have a good time? Tobi did, Tobi had lots of fun and Tobi was a good boy. Tobi wanted to bring Itachi and Sasuke presents, but Tobi ran out of cash and Tobi didn't want to steal because then Tobi wouldn't be a good boy and then... **

**AHAHAHAH CLIFFHANGER! I know, I know, I'm sorry. It just fits better with the next chapter. The story of how Itachi and Tobi met Kisame and Zetsu will be written sometime in the next chapters.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, I'll update as soon as I can. **


	5. Naruto

**Well then. A new chapter. I bet you're dying to read it. And I am not gonna stop you. Go ahead. Enjoy.**

**Actually, I'm gonna talk a bit. The dialog between Naruto and the ghost is in cursive because...I don't really know. I was bored and it seemed to fit better than normal lettering. Whatever. Enjoy the chapter.**

**Why are you still reading this? The chapter is more interesting. Hopefully.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine.**

xXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto had always been able to see ghosts. Ever since he could remember, he had always seen them, talked to them. His parents were normal. Neither of them could see what Naruto saw.

The blond had never told anyone about his ability. He had seen movies about people who were sent to mental institutions, for claiming to see things others didn't. Ghosts, visions, god, aliens, and so on. Naruto didn't want that to happen to him, so he kept quiet.

Naruto remembered a road-trip they had once when he was eight years old. His mother had been fascinated by a strangely shaped tree. Naruto had been terrified by the disemboweled man that was hanged from its branches. His parents hadn't noticed it. Even when the noose around the man's neck broke and the body hit the ground with a loud thud. Nobody except Naruto had seen that. Or that the man suddenly sat up, retied his noose to the tree, and hanged himself again.

The blond boy had waited until his parents had gone further away, then he had run to the dead man.

"_Who are you?" he asked the man._

_"Just a dead soldier." came a sad reply._

_"Why are you hanging yourself?"_

_"To get to the other side. I want to see my family. But I can't."_

_"Why not?"_

_" 'M stuck here. They told me that if I could hang myself without breaking the rope, I could go. But this rope is completely rotten. Always breaks after a bit."_

_"Why don't you ask anyone for a new rope?"_

_The man chuckled. "Jeez kid, you sure ask a lotta questions. Anyway, I haven't got the chance yet. You're the first person to ever talk to me since I died. "_

_"...Oh..."Both the man and Naruto fell silent._

_"I'll bring you a new rope, mister!"Naruto suddenly shouted._

_The man started laughing. "You?"_

_"Yeah!" Naruto was serious._

_The man fell silent seeing the determined look on the boy's face._

_"You would do that for me? Why?"_

_"Why not? You're not evil. You just want to see your family."_

_The man chuckled and stared into the distance. "Yeah..."_

_Naruto heard his parents call for him. He started running. Suddenly he stopped and looked at the dead soldier. "Mister, I' ll bring you a new rope in a while. I promise!"_

_The ghost smiled. "Do what you can, kiddo."_

xXxXxXxXxXx

A few days later, Naruto had convinced his parents to come back to the same place. The blond boy had brought a long length of rope with him. Later, when his parents had gone to set up the picnic spot, Naruto had run and put the rope under the tree, then joined his them. The blond hadn't seen the ghost or the rope ever again, but when he went to the tree later, he found a 'Thank you' scratched into the dirt.

That was the first time he had ever helped a ghost. Since then, whenever he found a spirit, he tried to help them. Most of them wanted to move on, and if Naruto could do something about it, he did.

He also found out that all ghosts weren't friendly. Unfortunately, he had found out the hard way. A ghost driven mad with loneliness had used a knife to carve six whisker-like cuts into his cheeks, almost killing the 9-year old from blood-loss. Naruto had recovered well, leaving only the scars as painful reminders that all of them didn't want comfort.

Naruto's parents had gone ballistic at the time with worry. So Naruto lied, and told them that he had been mugged. After all, how does one tell their parents 'Oh by the way, I've been able to see ghosts since I was born, and one of them attacked me with a knife when I tried to help it.' There is no way. Thats why he settled for lying. After all, mugging hadn't been such a bad explanation, considering that he had lost his wallet while following the ghost. His parents believed him, thankfully. So did the police, when Naruto had spent hours making up stories about his attacker. The police never found the attacker.

His parents had never been very rich, that's why they nearly had a heart attack when Naruto ran into their apartment one night, holding up a lottery ticket and screaming something about winning the jackpot. The jackpot turned out to be a total of 8 million dollars. The family started traveling a lot. Visiting places brought Naruto new friends, both living and some dead ones. Though, after his father nearly died in a skiing accident in the mountains, the Uzumaki/Namikaze family decided to settle down.

They moved to a small town called Konoha, and ended up buying an old mansion. Naruto's dad, Minato Namikaze, enjoyed challenges when it came to fixing things. His mom, Kushina Uzumaki, would yell at Minato when he took too long, or spent too much money on whatever he was restoring. Naruto would watch the two of them argue and laugh at them. Until Kushina came after him with a hammer. Or frying pan. Depends on which was closer.

Anyway, with delays or not, the mansion got fixed up for Naruto's 18th birthday. So as a birthday present, Minato and Kushina gave Naruto half the mansion. His parents still owned the whole of it on papers, but it was an agreement that the top floor was completely Naruto's and that he could do whatever he wanted with it. The place was HUGE in his opinion. Not that he complained or anything. Having half a mansion was really awesome. And annoying sometimes. Two years of living on the top floor and Naruto still couldn't figure out where they were coming from.

Drafts. Drafts would open up doors and slam them from time-to-time. That's why he kept the doors locked unless he was in the room.

xXxXxXxXxXx

That's exactly why Naruto was confused to see the study door wide open, when he remembered locking it earlier. He walked closer, footsteps muffled by the hallway's carpet. The blond peered into his study, and was greeted by an unusual sight.

A black-haired ghost sat on the floor, his back towards the blond. The spirit was currently trying to rip up a floorboard. Curious, Naruto stood in the doorway and watched. It wasn't everyday something like this happened.

He watched as the raven succeeded in pulling up the floorboard, revealing a gaping hole beneath it. Naruto shifted slightly. This was getting interesting. The ghost seemed oblivious to his presence and reached into the hole, pulling out a wooden box. He wiped it down and pulled a silver key out of his pocket. Naruto watched as the ghost unlocked the box. He really wanted to interrupt and ask what the hell was going on, but he also really wanted to know what was in the box. So he decided to be quiet and watch.

"Um, can I help you?"

_Apparently, my mouth and brain aren't connected_, Naruto decided after hearing himself say those words. He watched the spirit tense and turn his face towards the voice. Black eyes were filled with pure shock. The spirit put the box onto the floor and stood up slowly.

"My name is Itachi Uchiha. " The spirit introduced himself, sticking out a hand. Naruto shook it, still curious.

_Uchiha...Uchiha...Where the hell have I heard that name before?_ Naruto thought to himself.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

The spirit stared. "So your family lives here now?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"What do mean _now_?" Naruto asked Itachi.

Itachi smirked. "Me and my family used to live here. Until five years ago."

Suddenly Naruto's mind clicked. Uchiha had been the name on the house documents. Uchiha had been the name in the newspapers five years ago. The same Uchiha family which had vanished without a trace. And now one of them was standing in front of Naruto.

"How'd you die?" Naruto blurted out.

Itachi seemed to go blank at this question. He shifted uncomfortably and sighed. "Well, that's...I'm not actually dead." the raven muttered.

"That's not possible. I'm a spiritwatcher, and you are most DEFIANTELY a ghost." Naruto frowned.

"I know, I know. I'm a ghost but I haven't died yet.'' Itachi scratched the back of his neck. ''Yes, it seems crazy and I'm not the best person to explain this.'' Seeing Naruto stand quietly, Itachi picked up the box and locked it again, slipping the key into his pocket. That seemed to bring the blond back from whatever land his mind was wondering in.

''What's in the box?''

Itachi hesitated before answering. ''Money. Look, if that is all, I really need to get back to my companions.'' he said while walking towards the doorway.

Naruto tilted his head and blocked the raven's path. ''You have companions?''

Itachi sighed. ''Yes, that's why I need my money. We're going to stay at a hotel, since the mansion was sold.'' he answered through clenched teeth while trying to step around the blond. Naruto stilled after hearing that, allowing Itachi to finally walk though the doorway. ''It was nice meeting you, but right now I have to go.''

Itachi was halfway down the hallway, when Naruto suddenly came running from the study. He skidded to a stop beside the raven and placed a hand against the wall to steady himself.

''How many people are with you? he panted out.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. ''Two humans and three spirits including me.'' he answered after a small pause.

Naruto's face lit up brightly. ''You could stay here! The whole top floor is mine, so I've got plenty of room!''

The raven frowned. ''I'm not sure if the others would be okay with that. Besides, you own the mansion now. It would be rude to intrude like that.''

''No, no, it's completely fine! Besides, you technically already intruded, with taking the money-box and all that.'' Naruto smirked.

The Uchiha cocked an eyebrow. ''...True, but I still wouldn't make a decision without talking to the others.'' he said, turning to leave.

Naruto grabbed his shoulder. Or tried to, at least. The blond stumbled as his hand went through the ghost, he lost his footing and he hit the floor. Itachi turned around, his face blank, but his eyes sparkled with humor. He extended his hand and helped Naruto stand up.

''Thanks...'' Naruto mumbled, his face growing red. He coughed once. ''Anyway, where are your people?''

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "My people? That makes me sound like a tribe leader."

Naruto grinned. "Aren't you something like that?"

The raven shrugged. "Hn."

"Is that a yes?"

"Are you talking about my answer or the staying here part?"

Naruto thought for a minute. "Both."

Itachi smirked. "I don't know. I guess you'll have to convince 'my people'."

"Where are they?"

"Outside the front gate." The raven turned and walked down the stairs, the blond trailing behind him.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

"What's taking him so long?" Sasuke glanced at his watch again and clenched his jaw. Itachi had been in the mansion for well over 30 minutes. _Maybe I should go look for him._

"Maybe he's lost?" Kisame asked carefully.

"How the _hell_ can you get lost in your own house?" Sasuke said, sending him a nasty look. Kisame shrugged. "Renovation?"

Sasuke sighed and rubbed his temples. He felt a headachecoming on and Tobi's nonstop chattering wasn't helping. Zetsu was doing his best to get the masked Uchiha to somewhat behave, and Sasuke honestly felt sorry for him. Tobi could drive anyone insane.

"There he is!" Tobi suddenly cried out. Everybody's heads snapped to look at the driveway. Indeed, the Uchiha was walking towards them.

"He has the box with him." Sasuke commented happily. _Hotel-beds tonight._

"Who's the other person?"Zetsu tilted his head.

Sasuke frowned. "What other person?" He hadn't noticed anyone else.

"The one behind him. **The blond guy.**" Zetsu pointed. At that moment, the figure behind Itachi sidestepped to avoid a rock. Everyone stared as the two figures drew closer, until they were at the gates. The blond boy took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the front gates. He pushed them open with a creak and stepped onto the sidewalk behind Itachi.

"Hi!" The blond boy waved. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

_Well he sure is cheerful._.. Sasuke thought. Naruto turned to look at him. The Uchiha felt a shiver run down his spine. _This guy is defiantely a spiritwatcher._

Over the years, Sasuke had learned to distinguish normal people from spiritwatchers. They had a special spark in their eyes. Kisame had it in his light-gray ones*, Zetsu's yellow pupils held it too, yet the piercing blue eyes in front of him beat the others by a long shot. Naruto's eyes seemed to gaze into his soul, looking through his secrets, undoing locks on old memories and-

Saauke blinked and the illusion was gone. _What the hell was that._

Itachi turned to the others. "There is a reason I brought him. He has a proposal for all of us."

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

***I have no idea how to describe Kisame's eye-color. They are actually colorless, but that would be kinda weird, so I made them light-gray. **

**This chapter was a pain. I had to rewrite it six times, because it didn't feel right. Anyway, I finally got so fed-up, so I just left it like this. Hope you liked it. **


	6. Stories

**Title: Stories. **

**The lines written in italic are memories or thoughts, the ones in italic and bold is black-Zetsu talking and the normal lettering in the memory are Sasuke's thoughts. I dunno. I know my writing style is confusing, just try to understand. 'Kay? This chapter is like a giant trip down memory lane. Teehee.**

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Well then. I didn't think I'd be back in here. New furniture, but still. _Sasuke thought as he walked around his old room. He trailed his fingers over the wall and wrinkled his nose slightly. _Dusty. Doesn't the dobe know how to clean? Jeez._

After Naruto had told them of the idea if them staying at the mansion instead of a hotel, there had been a huge discussion. Sure, they would get to stay there for free, but nobody knew what Naruto had to gain from it.

xXxXxXx

_"What do you want in return for letting us stay here?" Sasuke asked suspiciously. He didn't trust the blond. After all, who actually lets random people stay at their house?_

_"The story of how the hell are you alive if you're ghosts." Naruto answered with a grin._

_Sasuke glared at his brother. "Dammit Itachi, what did you tell him?"_

_"I told him that I don't really know the story that well and that you would tell it." Itachi replied calmly._

_"Hell no."_

_"Aw come on! Why don't you want to stay here?" Naruto gave Sasuke a pleading look._

_"Because you're loud, annoying and with my luck, we'll be stuck as roommates or something." Sasuke snapped and turned his back towards the blond._

_Naruto glared at his back. "Bastard."_

_He watched as the raven's shoulders tensed. "What did you just call me?" Sasuke's voice was dangerously low. Naruto smirked. "I called you a bastard. 'Cause you sure act like one."_

_Sasuke spun around, his face filled with anger. Tobi, sensing danger, grabbed Sasuke's arm._

_"Tobi, let go."_

_"No."_

_"I said, let me go!"_

_"No!"_

_Sasuke squirmed in Tobi's grasp. "DAMN IT TOBI LET ME THE FUCK GO!" he screamed at the Uchiha and kicked him in the shin._

_Sasuke felt the grip on his arm loosen and he twisted himself free, with the intent of attacking Naruto. Until he felt someone grab his jacket from behind._

What is this, everybody grab Sasuke day? _he thought angrily, as the person behind him twisted the raven around. Sasuke suddenly found himself staring at Zetsu's face. The man loomed over Sasuke, yellow eyes narrowed and cold._

_"Don't you dare hurt Tobi again. **You hurt Tobi, we'll hurt you.** Got it?" Zetsu's voice was barely louder than a whisper, yet the Uchiha heard every word. He had no trouble believing that Zetsu would actually fulfill his threat. Instead of saying anything, Sasuke nodded. Zetsu glared at him for a second longer, then let go of the raven's jacket._

_"Zetsu, you didn't have to do that for Tobi." the masked Uchiha chirped. He ran up to his partner and hugged him. Zetsu put an arm around Tobi and pressed a light kiss on the top of his head._

He's scary. And possessive.

_"And don't attack Naruto. **I'm pretty sure you want to stay at the mansion after all.**" Zetsu added, seeing the way Sasuke's eyes flickered back to the blond._

_Naruto, who had been watching the whole thing, grinned. "So, you accept my offer?"_

_"...Hn." Sasuke gave up._

_Naruto clasped his hands together. "Well then, I'll show you to your rooms." With that, the blond turned around and started walking back towards the mansion._

xXxXxXxXx

Sasuke looked at the clock in his room. 6:32 pm. He sighed. They had agreed to meet in the living-room at 7. His brother and Tobi really wanted to hear and tell about the past five years. And Naruto wanted to hear the story. _Dammitdammitdammitdammit. Why does he want to know so bad? What does he gain from it?_

Sasuke didn't like telling the story that much. It always made his mind go back to the day when it happened. He still felt the overflowing mixture of loneliness, dread, and (sometimes) disgust. But if the only way Naruto would let them stay at the mansion would be by hearing the story, then Sasuke would have to tell it, whether he liked it or not. He wasn't the only one who wanted to stay here.

Sasuke flopped down onto the bed and sighed. _What the hell am I going to do. Only two years left and I'm the one who doesn't have a partner. Shit. Even Tobi found someone. TOBI of all people! _

The Uchiha groaned and rolled onto his stomach. _I hate my life._

XxxXxXxXxXx

Naruto sat in the living-room on his favorite chair. Kisame and Itachi had taken up one of the couches, while the other one was occupied by Tobi and Zetsu. The oldest Uchiha had taken his orange mask off for a change, but he buried his face into Zetsu's arm whenever he caught someone looking at him.

_All of them look really cute together._ Naruto thought as he eyed the couples from his seat. Earlier when Itachi and he had walked down the driveway, Itachi had explained that his 'companions' held two gay couples. The blond had been a little surprised, but he reassured Itachi that it was okay with him. Despite being straight himself, he really didn't see the problem with homosexuality. In his opinion, if two people were happy together, they should be able to.

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts as Sasuke walked into the room. The Uchiha sent Naruto a glare and sat down.

"So, Sasuke, you're starting story-hour, I guess." Naruto leaned back in his chair.

"Only if you shut up, dobe."

"Who're you calling a dobe!" the blond huffed.

"You obviously. Nobody else is that dumb."

"Bastard."

"Dumbass."

"Dick."

"No, I'm Sasuke. Dick lives next door." Sasuke smirked as he watched Naruto struggle with a comeback.

"...Whatever. Are you going to tell your story or not?" Naruto huffed, crossing his arms.

"I was going to. Now shut up."

"You're the one who's talking." the blond pouted.

Sasuke glared at Naruto. "You moron, I'm _supposed _to be talking if I'm telling a story."

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty. **Can we hear the fucking story now?**" Zetsu interrupted before Naruto could answer.

Sasuke frowned. "Haven't you heard it from Tobi yet?"

Zetsu stared at him, yellow eyes unblinking. "I haven't heard the full story. **Tobi doesn't know all of it.**''

Sasuke sighed. ''If everyone is done talking, I would like to start. I really don't want to tell it more than once.''

Everybody's eyes clicked to the Uchiha.

xXxXxXxXxXx

Over the next hour, Naruto learned that exactly five years ago, Sasuke had been kidnapped on his way to school. His kidnapper, a 30 year old man called Orochimaru Sannin, had wanted to 'adopt' the youngest Uchiha, a.k.a. keep him locked up and molest him. The only way he agreed to release the 16-year old, was with a curse on him and his family. The only way to remove the curse, was to find their living partner who would agree to live with them for the rest of their lives. If the curse isn't undone in seven years, the three spirits and the living partners would die. Currently, five years had passed and the only one without a partner was Sasuke.

''And that's why we're back in Konoha.'' Sasuke finished talking.

''Why the hell are you the one without a soulmate?'' Naruto teased.

''Why the hell are you 19 and single?'' Sasuke snapped back.

''Hey, I'm single by choice!'' the blond huffed.

''Yeah, choice of others.''

''Why you-''

''Sasuke, you still haven't told us what you did in the past five years.'' Itachi cut off Naruto before the blond could finish his insult.

"Why don't you go first, _dear_ brother." Sasuke hissed through his teeth.

"Yeah, how did you people meet anyway?" Naruto asked, curious again.

Itachi glanced at Kisame, and smiled slightly. "It's an interesting story. You see..."

xXxXxXxXxXx

Turned out, that when Itachi had left the house, he had taken his laptop with him. On the second year away, he was sitting in a hotel room*, aimlessly surfing the web, when he had recieved an e-mail from a person named Pein Nagato**. Curious, he had clicked on it, finding an invitation to a chatroom called the 'Akatsuki.'

xXxxXxXxXx

"Wait, wait, wait. **You're saying that you were a part of the Akatsuki as well?**" Zetsu interrupted suddenly, after hearing that Itachi had received an e-mail to join. Itachi raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"What the hell, Tobi and I were members too! **What were your usernames?**"

Zetsu asked, suddenly seeming more awake.

Kisame was the first to answer. "...Sharky..." he muttered, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

Zetsu chuffed. "Could have guessed. **What about you, Itachi?**" he asked, turning his attention to the Uchiha.

If Kisame had blushed earlier, it was nothing compared to what Itachi was doing now. His whole face looked like a stopsign. Itachi buried his face into his knees and stayed silent for a while, until a very quiet and almost inaudible answer was heard. "...Shariganweasel..."

Naruto watched as Sasuke ran a hand over his face. _Is he embarrassed or containing his laughter?_

Zetsu tilted his head. "_You_ were 'Shariganweasel'? **You always seemed so untalkative**. Anyway, I was called 'Double', and Tobi was 'Masked'. **Heh, the ten of us made a pretty strange group.**''

"Whaddaya mean 'strange group'?" Naruto asked from his seat. Zetsu waved his hand dismissingly at him. "I'll talk later. **Let Itachi finish his story.**"

"So anyway..."

xXxxXxXxXx

So anyway, Itachi had joined the Akatsuki. He had enjoyed everyone's company, especially the person's who went under the alias 'Sharky'. When 'Sharky' made a proposal to meet each other in real life, Itachi had agreed after a while. After all, he didn't have anything to lose from it. If 'Sharky' couldn't see him, he could say that he forgot about the meeting and continue talking with him online.

So that evening, Itachi had been the only one at the café, sitting at a table, when in walked a figure with blue skin. The man looked around the place, seeing apparently nobody, he took out his phone and texted Itachi (yes, they had exchanged phone numbers). The text was simple; 'Are you at the café?'.

Itachi had answered with a 'yes'. Instead of getting back an 'I can't see you', Itachi had received a different answer. 'So you're the angelic-looking ghost?'. Itachi had looked up to see the man currently sitting down at his table, and realized that he was a spiritwatcher.

''I'm Kisame Hoshigaki.'' the man said, offering his hand.

"Itachi Uchiha."

Kisame had gone along with the whole 'I'm a ghost but not dead' thing pretty easily, much to Itachi's surprise. They became ve~ry close friends, and before you know it, Kisame had called Itachi his boyfriend.

xXxxXxXxXx

"After that we travelled a bit, then came here." Itachi finished, laying his head on Kisame's shoulder.

"Okay, our turn. **Tobi, you wanna tell it, or am I going to?**" Zetsu poked his drowsy partner.

"Go ahead, Zetsu." Tobi blinked a few times and sat up straighter.

"Okay, I'm gonna talk about how we met and Naruto wanted to hear about the Akatsuki.** I'd better get started then."**

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Three years ago, Zetsu had been sitting in his apartment, dealing with laptop. His two old friends, Pein and Konan, had talked him into creating a chatroom called the Akatsuki with them. In other words, they let Zetsu do all the hard work, seeing that he was excellent with computers.

Anyway, Zetsu was sitting with his laptop, when suddenly the doorbell rang. He stood up and went to answer the door. What he found there, was defiantly not what he had expected. A spirit wearing an orange mask sat on his suitcase, looked up when he saw Zetsu answer the door. Zetsu had stared at him for a few moments, then spoken.

"Can I help you?"

The spirit squeaked at that, apparently he had not expected the man to talk."Y-you can see me?" he stuttered.

"Yeah, yeah, I can see you. **Now what do you want?"**

The spirit tapped his fingers together in a nervous gesture before blurting out, "Do you have a spare room? I really need a place to where to stay for tonight."

Zetsu blinked. ''Yeah, sure. **Come in.**''

The ghost followed him inside. ''I'm Tobi.''

''Zetsu.''

Tobi had ended up getting the spare guest-room for the night. And the next night. And the whole week. Until Zetsu finally decided that Tobi might as well live there. And be his boyfriend. So generally, things worked out pretty well.

Meanwhile, Zetsu had also finished the chatroom. Pein sent invitations to a lot of random people, though many refused. The people who stayed, were mostly a bit crazy. 'Crazy' was the only word to describe the group. The group had a bit everyone.

*The person obsessed with a strange religion. Nicknamed 'Jashinist'.

*The person who thought the only correct form of art was explosives. Nicknamed 'Katsu'.

*The miser. Nicknamed 'Money'.

*The person who carved puppets. Nicknamed 'Puppetboy'.

*The person who almost never talked. Nicknamed 'Shariganweasel'.

*The person who actually seemed rather normal. Nicknamed 'Sharky'.

*The hyper ball of happiness. Nicknamed 'Masked'.

And of course the three creators of Akatsuki:

*Pein, the person with god complex. Nicknamed 'Kami'.

*Konan, Pein's girlfriend. Nicknamed 'Origamiqueen'.

*Zetsu. Nicknamed 'Double'.

Of course, everyone there had their own flaws. 'Puppetboy' and 'Katsu' fought over their view of art. 'Jashinist' and 'Money' fought over nothing special. 'Masked' got on everyone's nerves. 'Kami' and 'Origamiqueen' argued sometimes, though they mostly got along well. 'Sharky' and 'Shariganweasel' were the only ones who actually got along perfectly.

Though, everything had worked out well. The last time Zetsu had logged on, 'Puppetboy' and 'Katsu' had gotten together, so had 'Money' and 'Jashinist'. 'Kami' and 'Origamiqueen' were already a couple and 'Sharky' and 'Shariganweasel' said they would be traveling together.

xXxXxXxXx

"Now I know where." Zetsu finished with a smirk, looking at Kisame and Itachi.

Sasuke rubbed his eyes. "So let me get this straight. Itachi met Kisame through a chatroom that Zetsu created and Tobi just randomly rang Zetsu's doorbell. What the hell, people! The only thing I did during the five years was date a guy called Suigetsu for a month, then randomly travel without meeting another spiritwatcher!"

Naruto tilted his head. "So you _did_ date someone. Huh."

Saauke glared at him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he snapped.

"Nothing, I'm just surprised that someone would find you attractive with that kind of attitude."

"Oh, because your attitude is such a charmer. How many people have _you _dated in the last five years?"Sasuke crossed his arms.

"More than you anyway!"Naruto shouted, rising out of his chair.

"IF YOU HAVEN'T FUCKING NOTICED YET, I'M A GHOST! NOT EVERYONE CAN SEE ME!" Sasuke exploded, standing up as well.

"OH, SO WHEN YOU WERE STILL HUMAN, EVERYONE WOULD JUST FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR FUCKING ATTITUDE! WELL WHOOPITY-FUCKING-DOO BECAUSE I KNOW THAT _I_ COULD NEVER LOVE SOMEONE LIKE YOU!" Naruto screamed, clenching his fists so tight, that his knuckles turned white.

"NOBODY ASKED YOU TO LOVE SOMEONE LIKE ME!" Sasuke yelled back.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM! I TRY AND BE NICE, AND YOU JUST FUCKING INSULT ME ALL THE TIME!"

"I WOULDN'T INSULT YOU IF YOU DIDN'T NEED IT!"

Naruto glared at him for a bit before saying, " You are the biggest asshole I have ever met." With that, he turned and walked out of the door.

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair. "...Whatever, it's too late for this shit. I'm going to bed." was all he said before storming into the hallway, leaving behind four confused people.

"...Well that was...interesting." Kisame broke the silence.

xXxXxXxXxXx

***Meaning, Itachi had snuck into an empty hotel room and stolen the room-key from the reception, so nobody could enter the room by accident.**

****I had no effing idea what to call him. Hope that you're okay with this.**

**So..I'm done with another chapter. Itachi turned a bit OOC. Sorry about that. I just like them a bit fluffy. Anyway, this chapter had pile of stories, also talked a bit 'bout the Akatsuki. Hope you liked it. Teehee, I just love the Akatsuki couples. Dunno why. **

**On a different note, I just looked at the calendar and realized that my b-day is on Wednesday. What the actual fuck. Already. **

**Whatever. Thanks for reading, review if you can, new chapter will be up on my b-day, try not to die until then. Bye-bye!**


	7. Shopping

***sings awkwardly to self***

**Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me. Happy birthday dear girlie, happy birthday to me! This would be cheerful, except everyone (not counting family) forgot about my b-day. Literally only one person in my class remembered. I didn't realize I was _that _unpopular. T_T**

**Anyway, thanks for putting up with my little rant. And thanks for reading my story, it makes me feel happier that anybody actually bothered reading it. If I met any of you in real life, I would hug you and give you cookies. If I happened to have any at the moment. Hm, I should really start carrying cookies. Okay, I'm done.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would share the ownership with every fanboy and fangirl on the planet.**

xXxXxXxXxXx

Itachi lay on the bed he shared with Kisame. The Uchiha was so deep in thought, that he didn't notice when his partner entered the room.

"...ITACHI!" Kisame's loud voice pulled the raven back to reality.

"Hn?" Itachi asked, turning to face him.

"Finally! I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes." Kisame answered, sitting on the bed as well. He had been together with Itachi long enough to understand the Uchiha's nonverbal answers.

Itachi raised an eyebrow as an unspoken question.

"...I forgot why. Anyway, whatcha thinking about so hard?" Kisame lay next to the Uchiha, wrapping an arm around him. Itachi snuggled closer to Kisame before answering.

"Sasuke was acting weird earlier." was all he said.

"...You mean he doesn't normally bitch that much?" Kisame asked carefully. Itachi sent him a glare. ''Sorry.''

"I meant the yelling. Before, if he didn't like somebody, he would just ignore them, or insult them until they left. That's the first time I've seen him start yelling at someone outside the family."

"Well, you haven't seen him in five years, maybe he changed his habits."

"Hn. I doubt it." Itachi muttered before yawning. Kisame kissed his forehead gently.

"Goodnight angel."

"Hn."

The couple soon drifted off to sleep.

xXxXxXxXx

Naruto paced around his room, ranting to himself. His only audience was his fox plushy, Kyuubi.

"What the fuck is wrong with that bastard? I didn't do anything to him and he treats me like a piece of shit! I even was nice enough to give him his old room, and he starts complaining how dusty it is! A little dust never hurt anybody. "

Naruto sighed and plopped onto his bed. He picked up the plushy and hugged it. "You understand me, right Kyuubi?"

"..."

"...Fine, don't answer. I'll just talk to myself, 'cause you're such a lousy talker."

The fox stayed silent and the blond continued. "I mean, what is his problem? That asshole has done nothing but insult me!"

Naruto rolled over, his face now squished against the pillows. He groaned. "I need sleep...Damn brain, get tired already."

xXxXxXxXxXx

_"Ramen, will you marry me?"_

_"Yes Naruto, I will!" The bowl of ramen hugged him. A priest suddenly appeared next to them, pulling out two rings._

_" I pronounce husband and ramen. You may now _get the fuck up, dobe."

_Naruto blinked in confusion. He could have sworn that that had been Sasuke's voice, telling him to get up. He turned towards the priest._

_"I'm sorry, what did you say?"_

_The priest tilted his head. "I said,'_Dobe, wake the fuck up. A woman came by a while ago and she's pissed."

Naruto rubbed his eyes and watched as the priest transformed into an angry looking Sasuke. An angry looking Sasuke. In his room. Telling him to wake up.

Naruto's drowsy brain sluggishly processed the info. Blue eyes widened comically as he jerked upright.

"What the hell, teme! Why the fuck are you in my bedroom?" the blond yelped as he realized what was going on.

Sasuke gave him a blank look. "A woman came around about ten minutes ago, screaming that you have to wake up. You said that you would. As much as I heard, you went back to sleep."

Naruto frowned. "Huh?"

The raven looked peeved. "You snore. Really loud."

"No, I mean why did you wake me up?"

"Beacuse that lady threatened to bring an ax and cut down your door if you don't get up. And I like the mansion as it is right now."

"...Oh. How'd you get in?"

Sasuke sent the blond another glare. Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Right. Stupid question." He rubbed his eyes. "By the way, did that woman have red hair?"

"Hn."

"...I'll take that as a yes. Just so you know, that lady is my mom. Kushina."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "...You had to identify her by her hair-color? How many women live here that threaten to break down your door with an ax?"

Naruto shrugged lazily. "Eh, sometimes we get visitors."

The blond yawned loudly and ran his hands through his hair. His pajama top rose up as he stretched, revealing a tattoo on his tanned navel. Naruto froze mid-strech, noticing the way Sasuke was suddenly staring at him.

"...Are you okay?" Naruto asked the ghost cautiously, taking in the hungry look in his eyes. Sasuke blinked and shook his head slightly.

"I'm fine."

Naruto scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and got up. "Uh, are you going to watch me change or..." he trailed off. Sasuke took the hint and started walking towards the door.

Naruto seemed to think for a minute. "Oi, teme. Thanks for the wake-up, I guess..."

"Hn." The Uchiha vanished through the maple-wood door.

Naruto stared at the door for a minute, just in case Sasuke decided to come back. Certain that the raven wasn't coming back, Naruto shuffled over to his closet and started looking for clothes. After fishing out an orange T-shirt, he plopped into his computer-chair. _What the heck just happened?_

xXxXxXxXxXx

Outside the door, Sasuke immediately slammed his head into the nearest wall. _WHY DID I STARE LIKE THAT! I'VE SEEN ENOUGH BARE STOMACHS BEFORE, WHY THE FUCK DID I STARE AT THAT ONE! Maybe because of the tattoo. Yes, that has got to be it. There is no way I was staring at the dobe. Defiantly at the tattoo._

Sasuke took a few deep breaths and rubbed his painful forehead. _That's going to bruise._

"NARUTO UZUMAKI! YOU GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE THIS INSTANT OR I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL CHOP DOWN YOUR DOOR AND SET YOUR BED ON FIRE!" Sasuke watched as a furious woman with long red hair came storming up the staircase with an ax in her hand. He recognized her as Naruto's mother, thanks to the blond's description.

_Looks like she was serious about chopping down the door..._

"YEAH ALRIGHT, I'LL BE OUT IN A MINUTE, I'M GETTING DRESSED!" came a shout from Naruto's room. The door swung open, revealing Naruto in an orange T-shirt and jeans. The shirt hugged his frame closely, showing off his small-but-muscular figure.

"Why exactly did I have to wake up so early?" the blond pouted, casting a glance towards Sasuke, who was standing next to his door. Then he remembered that his mother couldn't see the raven and relaxed visibly.

"You have to go shopping for next week." the red-head replied calmly, setting the ax on the floor.

Naruto frowned. "What's next week?"

Kushina tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. "College." was all she said before picking up the ax and walking back down the hallway.

xXxXxXxXx

An hour later, Sasuke was sitting in the passenger seat of Naruto's black Lamborghini, holding on to the cushion with his fingernails. The blond's driving style was scary; mostly over the speed-limit and weaving in and out of different lanes.

_Shitshitshitshitshit we're going to crash, _the raven thought frantically as Naruto swerved sharply to switch lanes. _Why the fuck is he so careless? _

"Dobe, slow down." Sasuke pressed through clenched teeth.

Naruto gave him an innocent look. "Why?" he asked while narrowly dodging a motorcycle.

"That's exactly why. We are going to crash."

"No way, I drive like this all the time." Naruto replied, waving one hand around lazily.

"You keep your fucking hands on the wheel or I will turn it for you. Preferably into a ditch." Sasuke snapped, narrowing his eyes as the road-side railing came too close for his liking. Naruto huffed, but did as he was told.

After a while, the blond got bored and fished his iPod out of his pocket with one hand. He switched the device on and plugged it into the car stereo, shooting occasional glances at the road. Naruto shuffled through his songs, deciding on "Never wanted to dance " by Mindless Self Indulgence.

"There is nothing you can do that I have not already done to myself..." Naruto bellowed along, completely out of tune. Sasuke tried to shut out the blond's horrible singing and looked out the window instead.

_How the fuck did this happen._

xXxXxXxXxXx

_"What do you mean, you want me to go with you! I am _not_ going anywhere with someone as stupid as you!" Sasuke snapped at the blond._

_"I need help buying college stuff, I have no idea what to get!" Naruto paced around his room, clearly nervous. He had completely forgotten that college was going to start next week, let alone buy supplies. That's why he was bugging the youngest Uchiha to go with him._

_"Why don't you ask your parents?" Sasuke hissed, getting angrier by the minute._

_"My parents have some kind of fancy dinner-party tonight."_

_"Then why not Itachi and Kisame?" the raven folded his arms._

_"...I would...if I could find them. Besides, isn't it a bit awkward to ask your visitors to go college-supply shopping with you?"_

_"Then why the fuck are you asking me? I'm a visitor too!" Sasuke snapped. He didn't want anything to do with the blond._

_Naruto ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, well, you're almost the same age as me. Right?" he asked almost pleadingly. Seeing Sasuke's eyes narrow, he sighed. "Look, I don't want to spend time with you that much either. But I really don't have anybody else to ask. If you want, I'll stay out of your sight for the rest of the day. But please, PLEASE, come help me buy stuff!"_

_Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes. _I can't get rid of him until I agree. Besides, there is a chance of meeting another spiritwatcher, hopefully not as annoying as him.

_"Hn. Dobe."_

_"So that's a yes!" the blond cheered._

_Sasuke sighed._ This is going to be a long day.

xXxXxXxXx

_Ten minutes later, Naruto and Sasuke entered the garage after hunting for car-keys. Sasuke had been pleasantly surprised; he had been greeted by a shiny black Lamborghini Aventador. All the windows and even the windshield were tinted black, allowing absolutely no view to the interior._

_"Is this yours?"_

_"Yeah, it was a birthday present from mom and dad. But I let them use it sometimes. "_

_"I didn't think black was your color." Sasuke remarked, running his fingertips lightly over the hood._

_"Yeah, well, the dealership was out of the orange ones. At least I got the tinted windows." Naruto replied, unlocking the doors with a click of the remote attached to the keys. He swung open the driver's side, the door gliding upward._

Holy shit, _Sasuke thought as he passed through the passenger's side door and sat down. The Uchiha had never owned a car himself. Itachi had owned a silver Porche 928, but this was way cooler in Sasuke's opinion. The raven knew how to drive, but he hadn't had a chance to get a license before he was changed._

_Naruto noticed Sasuke's awed look and smirked. ''You like the car, teme?''_

_The raven's face slipped back into the emotionless mask. ''It's okay.''_

_Naruto frowned. ''Stop being such a jerk.'' _

xXxXxXxXxXx

Sasuke was snapped back to the present as Naruto turned into the parking lot of a big shopping mall. The blond soon spotted a parking space, not too far from the door.

''Yo bastard, we're here.'' Naruto said, turning off the engine.

''I can see that.''

Naruto clenched his fists. ''You want to help or not?''

''No. This was your idea.''

Naruto glared at the raven. ''...Fine. I'll just do the shopping in my own.''

''If you were going to do that, why'd you ask me along?'' Sasuke smirked. Pissing off the blond was fun.

Naruto huffed angrily. ''Stay here then.'' he snapped, getting out the car and slamming the door.

Sasuke passed through the door and smirked. ''Nah, I have better things to do.''

Naruto stared at the raven in surprise. ''...Wait, you're going to help me?''

The Uchiha smirked and started walking towards the automatic doors. ''When did I say that?''

Naruto growled. _This is going to be a long day._

xXxXxXxXxXx

**Yay, I finished a chapter! This took me a long time, my school schedule got worse. **

**I did a lot of research for this chapter, it took me forever to pick Naruto a car, finally I just went 'fuck it' and got him a Lamborghini Aventador. Hehe.**

**Anyway, on a sadder note, I'll be abroad for two weeks, a.k.a. no chapters during that time. Sorry.**

**Am I moving too fast with this story or not? Should it have more fluff? Please review and tell me what you think. **

**Thanks for reading. Bye-bye!**


	8. Problems

**Yay, I'm back from Finland and I have a new chapter for you!**

**Thanks for all the kind reviews and birthday wishes, they were really nice to read when I finally got Wifi.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, not yet.**

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Come on teme, help me carry some stuff!" Naruto whined as the duo walked towards the car. The blond was staggering under the weight of different boxes filled with textbooks, papers, ink cartridges and a new printer. Sasuke strutted beside him, smirking.

"No way. " the raven replied, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"You are a selfish bastard. I had to convince you for a fucking _hour_ in that store and now you won't help me carry my stuff." Naruto pouted.

Sasuke snorted. "Did you even think about how weird it would seem to normal people seeing a box floating next to you?"

"...Oh yeah..."

"Thought so. Idiot."

Naruto seemed pissed at the insult, but since his hands were full, he could only settle for glaring at the Uchiha. The raven looked very pleased with himself and there was nothing more than Naruto wanted to do was punch that smug look off the pale face.

"Aw cheer up dobe. At least you're living at home." Sasuke grinned.

The smaller man raised an eyebrow. "What has that got to do with me carrying things?"

Sasuke sighed. "Use your brain every once in a while. If you were living somewhere else, you would have to buy some furniture as well."

Naruto paled a little at that. "On second thought, these boxes aren't really that heavy."

"Hn."

The silence that settled between them stretched until they reached the car. Naruto set down the boxes for a second and fished his keys out of his pocket. The Lamborghini beeped as the doors unlocked. Naruto reached towards the boxes, then stopped and slapped his head loudly.

"Stupid, stupid, _stupid_!How could I forget!" Naruto whined, still slapping himself.

"What?"

Naruto hit himself a few more times before answering. "The Lamborghini Avendator has only two seats. And no trunk."

"...What do you mean 'no trunk'. Every car has a trunk." Sasuke frowned.

"Well yeah but, Lamborghini's are really small, they can only fit a spare tire." Naruto ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"..."

"What do we do now?"

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"I fucking hate you." Sasuke growled through his teeth.

"You don't think that it might apply to me too?" the blond snarled back. They were currently in a situation that neither of them liked.

Sasuke was sitting in Naruto's lap, his legs on either side of the blond's hips as he sat facing him. Technically, he would be pinning Naruto against the driver's seat if he hadn't been trying to move away. The passenger's side held the stacks of boxes that hadn't fit into the car's tiny trunk. Naruto was trying to steer as best as he could with the raven in his lap.

"Teme, would you fucking stop squirming? I can't see the road." the smaller man snapped as Sasuke inched steadily away from him. The Uchiha sighed and stilled.

"Well that's even better. I can't see at all now."

Naruto was angry enough that Sasuke had to sit in his lap, due to lack of space. It wasn't like the raven was heavy (Sasuke weighed about as much as a pillow in his current form), Naruto just felt humiliated that a grown man was sitting on him. While he was trying to drive.

"Well, which fucking way should I lean? I'm blocking your view either way." Sasuke snapped back.

Naruto huffed. "Can't you turn invisible or something?"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "Only if you suddenly became a normal person."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? I _am_ normal!"

Sasuke sighed inwardly. "I meant a non-spiritwatcher. Dumbass."

"Are you always so rude?"

"Are you always so loud and annoying?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Just move so I can see."

"_Where_ am I supposed to move?!"

"I don't know, just do something!"

The Uchiha sent him a glare as he started shifting around. "Is this better?"

"No."

"How about this?"

"No."

"Can you see now?"

"Still nope."

"How about now?"

"Are you _trying_ to make us crash? Because that's gonna happen if I can't see out of the windshield." Naruto growled.

Sasuke sighed and leaned towards Naruto.

"...What are you doing?" the blond asked suspiciously, watching the Uchiha get closer to him. Sasuke kept moving forward, until he was pressed completely against Naruto's chest.

"Can you see the road, dobe?" Sasuke asked quietly, his mouth right next to the blond's ear.

Too shocked to answer, Naruto nodded slightly. His mind was still registering the fact that Sasuke was laying against him, pinning him to the seat. The raven's breath tickled against his neck, sending shivers down Naruto's spine.

_He actually smells really nice._Naruto thought as Sasuke's hair brushed gently against his nose. He had a sudden urge to run his fingers through the dark locks.

_Wait, what the fu-_

Naruto shook his head slightly. _I did NOT just imagine myself petting his hair._

His train of thoughts was interrupted by the raven in his lap.

"Are we there soon?"

"Yeah, why?"

"My legs are dead."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Ten minutes later, Naruto's car pulled into the mansion's garage. The door swung upwards and Sasuke all-but-fell out, grabbing the car before he could fall.

"Sonofa- This fucking _hurts_!" Sasuke exclaimed angrily, rubbing his sore legs.

"Oi teme, can you still walk? Or do I have to carry you upstairs?" Naruto smirked, getting out of the car.

The Uchiha glared at him. "If you want something to carry, you got a shitload of boxes in the car."

"_You _picked out most of my stuff!" Naruto's smirk vanished.

"_You_ chose all the heavy things!"

"Hey, I need a new printer!

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, "An _orange_ one?"

"What's wrong with orange?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms.

"It's...orange!" the raven flailed his arms around, failing to find a better excuse.

Naruto narrowed his eyes."I like orange."

"Oh wow, I didn't notice." Sasuke snapped sarcastically. He winced as he stretched his legs, gingerly taking a few steps.

And crashed to the floor as Naruto shoved him from behind. The raven cried out in pain and surprise, as his left wrist was caught under his body. A sharp crack rang through the garage.

"Shit! Sasuke are you okay?" Naruto instantly scrambled to the raven's side, all anger forgotten.

"Oh fuck, I'm sorry! Is it broken? I swear, I didn't mean it! Oh god, oh god, oh god...Are you o-mmmpppfff!"

Naruto's rambling was cut off suddenly as Sasuke's punch caught him square in the mouth.

"What the fuck was that for!" the blond yelped, getting to his feet. He tasted blood on his tongue.

"You started it." Sasuke stated simply, getting to his feet. He was still holding his wrist, though whatever pain he felt, didn't show on his face. Naruto gingerly touched his lip, pulling away bloody fingertips.

"Is it broken?" he asked the raven, pointing towards the Uchiha's wrist. Sasuke moved it testingly.

"Don't think so." he said after a slight pause. Naruto sighed in relief.

"That's good. 'Cause I have no idea where to take you if you get injured. I don't think granny Tsunade is a spiritwatcher."

Sasuke cocked his head. "Granny Tsunade?"

"Tsunade is the local doctor. She isn't my real granny, I just call her that. She's an old family relative. Although she doesn't look old." Naruto explained, seeing the raven's confusion.

Sasuke stayed quiet for a minute.

"Oi, dobe."

"What?"

"You're getting blood on your shirt."

"...Dammit."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

After cleaning up his face and shirt with hydrogen peroxide, Naruto hauled the boxes up to his room. It took some time getting it done, especially since Sasuke refused to help him. After telling Naruto how to get blood off of cloth, the raven had shut himself into his room and hadn't come out yet.

_Fucking asshole. Refuses to help and then punches me._

Naruto sighed and flopped onto his bed.

_Though I did push him. Why did I push him? It's not like I wanted to hurt him that badly, just annoy him._

"I didn't really mean it." Naruto whispered out loud. He grabbed his fox plushy and curled up.

_What would have happened if his wrist actually broke?_The blond shuddered at that. For some reason, the mere thought of Sasuke being in pain made his stomach clench uncomfortably.

"It's because I consider him as a friend, right Kyuubi?" Naruto asked his stuffed animal. He liked to pretend that the fox answered him.

"..."

"What the hell do you mean that he shouldn't be a friend?" the blond yelped, getting up from his bed.

"..."

"Fine, don't answer. And I do consider him as a friend."

"..."

"...I don't get it. Of course he's my friend. A dick, but yeah. "

"..."

"That's it, you're sleeping in the closet tonight." Naruto snapped, picking up Kyuubi and throwing him into the closet, slamming the doors shut after it.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry I'm never going to lock you into the closet again unless I really need to, but that will probably neverevereverever happen so I'm gonna keep you on my bed and I'm reallyreallyreallyreallyreally sorry and..."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Meanwhile, Sasuke sat in his room, clutching his now bandaged wrist. It wasn't broken, just a bit sore, but Zetsu had advised him to tie it up just in case.

Turned out that Zetsu knew quite a lot about medicine and doctoring, since he had practically lived in the hospital for a year when he was first diagnosed with severe schizophrenia. Since an actual cure for schizophrenia hadn't been found yet, Zetsu took medication once a week to keep it somewhat under control. Sasuke didn't know what the man would be like without his medication, and honestly, he hoped he would never find out. Zetsu was scary enough, and as much as the Uchiha knew, some people could become very scary and violent without medicine.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

As he sat in his bedroom, Sasuke's toughts returned to what had happened earlier in the garage.

_The dobe pushed me at exactly the moment when I was completely solid. Why the fuck did he even push me? Last time I checked, judging someone's favorite color was legal. I mean, who the fuck actually likes orange?_

The Uchiha sighed. _Though orange looks rather good on him. Wait. Waitwaitwait. No. He does NOT look good in orange! He doesn't good at all._

_Well, he makes a nice pillow. _ Sasuke mentally kicked himself after that thought.

_That was only because we ran out of room in the car!_

_He smelled nice._

_Yes, but-_

_He had soft skin._

_Well...yeah..._

_Your heart beat faster._

_Wait a min-_

_You liked it._

_No way! Nonononononononono NO! I DID _NOT _LIKE IT!_

_Suit yourself. _The voice inside Sasuke's head left with a chuckle, leaving the Uchiha behind confused and thinking about it's words.

"I do _not _like the dobe. I hate him." Sasuke said out loud to himself. The raven felt his pulse quicken with those words.

_What the hell is going on?_

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

**Wohoo, new chapter! Hope you liked it, this one was fun to write. Some fluff and fighting.**

**If you're wondering why Sasuke's legs hurt after getting out of the car, try sitting on your knees for about ten minutes straight. Your legs will _hate_ you after that. **

**Lol, Naruto talks to plushies. Real mature for a 20 year old. And Sasuke has arguments with himself. I actually do both, but I'm allowed to 'cause I have shizotypal disorder._.**

**Fyi, hydrogen peroxide actually dissolves bloodstains.**

**'Til next time, my lovely readers!**


	9. Welcome to College

**Hello dear readers! Hope you liked the last chapter, it was a bit short. Sorry about that. This one is longer. Actually, it's the longest I've written so far.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto still isn't mine**

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

During the following week, almost everybody in the Uzumaki/Namikaze household busied themselves with something. Minato and Kushina fussed over work, throwing small dinner parties and running around the house with armfuls of papers. Naruto spent his days in his room, reading through textbooks and surfing the internet for tips on how to survive college. Sasuke sat on his computer, looking for local places where he might meet a spiritwatcher. Nobody knew exactly what Zetsu and Tobi were doing, since Zetsu seemed to spend every free moment on his laptop, snapping it shut every time anybody except Tobi tried to see what he was doing. The masked Uchiha usually clung to the schizophrenic man, either literally or figuratively. The only ones who seemed to have spare time were Kisame and Itachi.

The two of them either sat in their room, emerging for mealtimes, or took long walks around Konoha.

Sasuke didn't really approve of this. Or anything, actually. The youngest Uchiha grew more tense as the days went by, lunging at anyone who dared to disturb him. He had barricaded himself into his room, only coming out for showers.

On the fifth day, Itachi had enough of Sasuke's behaviour.

"Brother, I'm coming in." Itachi said after knocking on Sasuke's door for a while.

"Go away." came a snappy reply. Ignoring it, Itachi opened the door and stepped in, avoiding the book that was thrown towards him.

"What part of 'go away' can't you understand?" Sasuke snarled, getting up from his bed.

"I thought you could use some company." Itachi stated simply.

"Well you thought wrong. Now go away."

Instead of answering, Itachi sat down on Sasuke's computer chair.

"I thought I told you to leave." The youngest Uchiha growled. Itachi gave his brother a blank look.

"Why are you so angry?"

"Why shouldn't I be?"

Itachi cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Sasuke sighed and flopped back onto his bed. "I'm tired of not finding somebody. Don't get me wrong, I like being alone, it's just that if I can't find anyone, we all die. Including Kisame and Zetsu. That's why I'm angry."

Itachi raised his eyebrows in surprise. "_That's_ why you're mad? We still have two years, you need to relax."

The Uchiha sighed. "Yeah, I guess."

"Why don't you go outside and actually meet people?"

Sasuke glared at his brother. "Oh wow, I hadn't thought about that." he snapped sarcastically.

"What's the matter?" Itachi frowned.

"They've closed down every spot in town that could have any spiritwatchers my age."

"Even college?" Itachi asked, leaning back in the chair.

"...No, but I'm not going there."

"Why not?" The older Uchiha gave him a quizzical look. "Has this something to do with Naruto?"

Sasuke stiffened at the blond's name. "I am not going _anywhere_ where the dobe is. It's as simple as that."

"Why not?"

"Because he's an idiot, and I want nothing to do with him." the younger Uchiha said, crossing his arms. Itachi took it as a sign that the conversation was over and stood up. Before passing through the door, he turned for a moment.

"Naruto starts college in two days. Decide by then."

"Hn."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"You want to do _what_?"

"You heard me very damn well." Sasuke growled.

"You want to go to college with me? Why?" Naruto asked in response.

"Because I might meet a spiritwatcher my age. Other than you." the Uchiha grumbled. It had taken him about 24 hours to reconsider, but he decided that Itachi might have a point with the college idea. And as much as he hated being around Naruto, he really wanted to find his soulmate. Besides, he hadn't been to college yet.

"Let me get this straight. You want to go to college. And look for your soulmate." the blond scratched his head.

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Hn."

"Are you gonna do any courses?"

"And how do you think I'm supposed to that? Do I just walk up to the professor and say 'Hello, I'm going to participate in your class, don't let anyone sit on me'?" the raven snapped.

Naruto raised an eyebrow before answering. "Or you could just sit besides me. Help me cheat on tests and stuff."

"...Help you cheat on tests? What the hell do you think college is?"

"...College?" Naruto shrugged halfheartedly. "I don't know, I start tomorrow. "

Sasuke sighed in response.

"Look, all you have to do is help me through some bigger tests! Please, teme? Puh-leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-"

"No."

"-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-"

"No."

"-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-"

"If I agree to help you, will you shut up?" Sasuke asked, clearly annoyed.

"-EEEEEE-yes-EEEEEE-"

"Fine." the Uchiha gave up. He cut off the blond's victory shout. "Only since your chicken-sized brain probably couldn't pass a test on it's own."

Naruto glared at him. "Hey, I can pass a test with no problem!"

"Then you won't need my help." Sasuke smirked.

"You shitfaced little-" the blond started, clenching his fists.

"Are you really sure you want to finish that insult? Your brain might overload before you do." the Uchiha continued. It was clear that he enjoyed pissing off Naruto.

"I'm going to rip out your tongue and force you to eat it." Naruto growled.

"That's impossible, but I aprecciate your effort." Sasuke watched as Naruto's face grew constantly darker with anger.

"You are a fucking bastard. All I asked was for some help on some tests."

"And I said that I would, until you said that you could do it on your own. With your chicken-sized brain."

"My brain is not the size of a chicken. A chicken would not fit inside my head." Naruto pouted.

Sasuke blinked in surprise. "...I don't even know how to respond to that."

"You just did."

"...You need my help or not?" the Uciha asked, getting tired of losing his braincells.

"HELL YEAH I NEED HELP!" Naruto roared suddenly, startling Sasuke.

"Then I'll contact a mental hospital."

"No point, they can't help me with college." the blond countered, leaning back on the wall.

"Smooth." Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"Like my pick-up lines."

"You call 'Excuse me, could I bang you on my sofa tonight' smooth?"

Naruto gaped at him. "I do not say that!"

"Oh right. I forgot , 'Let me buy you dinner first'."the Uchiha smirked.

"What the hell! I can do way better than that!"

"Prove it."

"How?" Naruto scowled.

"Use one of your pickup lines on me."

The blond stared at Sasuke like the raven had just declared being the ruler of China."...I'm sorry, but did you just ask me to use a pickup line on you?"

"Hn"

"Okay umm...wow. This is awkward." Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Just do it you big pussy."

Naruto glared at him. "Alright. Jeesh. But don't cry if you fall for me and I turn you down."

Sasuke snorted in response.

"Excuse me, do you have a map? Because I just got lost in your eyes." Naruto said blankly, staring more at the wall than at Sasuke.

"That was pathetic."

"What do you mean _pathetic?"_ the blond asked, narrowing his eyes.

Sasuke sighed. "Pathetic. Absolutely no emotion."

"I'd like to see you do better." Naruto huffed, crossing his arms.

The Uchiha blinked in surprise before answering. "A challenge? You're on." He took a few steps forward until the blond was about 2 feet away from him. His eyes locked onto Naruto's, black staring into blue.

"Excuse me, do you have a map with you?" Sasuke's voice was soft and velvety when he spoke, sending slight shivers down the blond's spine.

"Because I just got lost in your eyes." the Uchiha lowered his voice almost to a whisper. Naruto stared into the taller man's eyes, unable to tear his gaze from the onyx orbs.

_Ba-dump_

The blond swallowed hard. All of a sudden, his breathing sounded very loud to himself. Sasuke leaned towards him, lessening the space between them. Naruto closed his eyes.

"I win." came a whisper. The blond's eyelids snapped open just in time to see Sasuke's smirking face pull away from his ear. Naruto stood in shock for a few seconds before regaining his voice.

"WHAT THE HELL TEME!" he shrieked, stumbling backwards as fast as he could.

"I win." Sasuke repeated calmly, his smirk growing wider.

"What makes you think you've won?" Naruto pouted, calming down a little.

"I said the pickup-line better. I win." the Uchiha crossed his arms victoriously.

"It wasn't that good." the blond scowled.

"You're blushing." Sasuke watched in amusement as Naruto clapped his hands to his red-covered cheeks.

_Shitshitshitshitshitshit why am I blushing?_

"I'm not blushing, it's just hot in here!" Naruto tried to hide his panic.

"Hn."

"Fuck. You." was all Naruto snapped before storming away down the hallway.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_WhydidIblushwhydidIblushwhydidIblushwhydidIblushwh ydidIblush_? Naruto was pacing around his room in panic. The blond forced himself to take a deep breath. Gradually, his heartbeat slowed down. He picked up Kyuubi.

"Sasuke was so close to me...Maybe his body heat rubbed off on me! Yeah, that's gotta be it! There's no way I was actually blushing!" Naruto convinced himself, throwing the toy back onto the bed.

_But why did I close my eyes?_

"It's not like I wanted to." Naruto spoke out loud to himself.

_So I would have preferred to stare into his eyes for the rest of eternity?_

"Whoa. Whoa. What. Brain, who's side are you on?" the blond asked himself.

_The winning one. _With that, Naruto's inner voice fell silent.

Naruto glanced at his clock and sighed. "Damn, I better get some sleep."

After stripping down to his boxers, he climbed onto his bed.

"Twelve hours until I'm an official college student. Homework. Lectures. Parties." The blond yawned as he dove under the covers.

"And hopefully I'll get a girlfriend." he mumbled in a sleepy voice to Kyuubi.

Snores soon filled the bedroom.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"NARUTO UZUMAKI! YOUR DAMN OPENING CEREMONY BEGINS IN AN HOUR! EITHER GET YOUR LAZY ASS OUT HERE OR BE LATE!"

Said blond jolted upright in his bed at his mother's angry shouting. He shot a tired look at his alarm clock, blue eyes widening comically as he realized that he had overslept. Ripping off the blanket, Naruto shot to his closet.

"FuckfuckfuckfuckfuckFUCK! WHERE IS MY DAMN SUIT?" he yelled furiously, not finding it in the closet. He spun around, eyes scanning the room. The blond spotted it hanging from his computer chair, right where he had left it last night.

"On the chair. Of fucking course." Naruto huffed, annoyed at his bad memory.

"Shit, I gotta use the bathroom." he muttered angrily to himself. The blond almost ran out of the room, before remembering that he was only wearing a pair of bright orange boxers. Pulling on a bathrobe he found in his closet, Naruto raced to the bathroom before he could piss himself.

_Fuck, I need to shower too._

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Fifteen minutes later, Naruto emerged from the bathroom, hair dripping onto the hallway carpet. Running into his bedroom, he picked up the towel slung onto his shoulders and started drying his blond locks. Satisfied with the half-dry result, Naruto glanced at his clock again.

40 minutes until the ceremony.

_Gotta hurry or mom 's gonna kill me,_ he thought to himself, drying off his body. Fishing out a fresh pair of underwear from his drawer, the blond dressed at record speed. And ended taking almost everything off, since his shirt was inside out and pants were on backwards.

Once everything was on how it should be, Naruto grabbed an orange tie and a pair of shoes from his closet and ran out the door. He stuffed the tie into his jacket pocket after nearly dropping it.

"Half an hour left...Fucking hungry..." the blond muttered as he skidded down the staircase, his socks slipping on the polished wooden steps. He narrowly avoided crashing into a wall, turning at the last moment.

Running into the kitchen, Naruto shoved the few pieces of toast he found on a plate into his mouth. He grabbed a bottle of water into his free hand and raced out of the room, heading for the garage.

Clicking the remote, he unlocked his Lamborghini and tore the door open, and all-but-jumped in. Slamming the door behind him, Naruto started the car. The V12 engine roared to life, lighting up the dashboard and headlights. Driving out of the garage, the blond continued munching on the piece of toast he had in one of his hands. Stuffing the last of it into his mouth, Naruto reached for the water-bottle he had left in the cupholder. Skillfully unscrewing the cap with one hand, he tilted his head back completely.

"Eyes on the road dobe."

Naruto choked on his water. Coughing and spluttering, he turned to the Uchiha in the passenger seat.

"When the fuck did you get here?" he managed to wheeze out.

"Before you got into the garage." Sasuke sent him a blank look.

"I didn't see you!"

"Obviously." the raven huffed before muttering under his nose. "And I thought Itachi had bad eyesight."

"...Why are you here?" Naruto changed the topic.

"College." Sasuke answered simply.

"I know that."

"Then why did you ask?"

The blond sent a glare at him before answering. "I meant, why are you coming to the opening ceremony?"

"Why not? If I'm going to attend college, I might as well go to the opening ceremony." the Uchiha turned to stare out of the window.

"You're not even dressed formally!" Naruto complained, waving an arm at Sasuke. The Uchiha was wearing skinny black jeans with a dark blue t-shirt. Definitely not formal.

"Just how many people do you think can see me? Ten, at the most." the raven sighed, not turning away from the window.

"...True, but still. It's the opening ceremony!"

"You want me to wear a suit?"

"Yeah, you'd look good in it!" Naruto clapped a hand to his mouth, realizing what he had just said. Sasuke rose an eyebrow before talking.

"Well you look like crap in it."

The blond turned his head towards the Uchiha. "You fucking-"

"Eyes on the road."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"...And I hope you all have a wonderful semester here at Konoha College." The room burst into applause, as the principal Jiraiya finished his speech. The gray-haired man smiled fondly at the room and stepped down from the stage, heading for his office.

In the crowd, Naruto tugged at his collar.

''It's really fucking hot in here.'' he whined, turning towards the ghost standing next to him. Sasuke smirked.

''That's what you get for wearing a suit.''

''I try and look nice for the opening and you fucking insult me!''

''I already said that you look like crap in a suit. Not your style.'' the raven said blandly.

''What the hell am I supposed to wear, a dress?'' Naruto snapped. To emphasize his point, he waved his arms around. And accidentally hit the man standing next to him over the head.

''Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?'' the blond started panicking.

''Nah, it's alright.'' The man said, slowly turning around. Seeing Naruto, he froze.

''Naruto? That really you dude?'' a wide grin appeared on the newcomer's face.

''_Kiba?'' _Naruto yelped. ''Holy shit dude! I haven't seen you since high-school!''

'' 'Course it's me, ya asswipe, who else do you know who could insult you this much?'' Kiba beamed at him. Naruto cast a glance towards Sasuke, who had been standing there the hold time.

''Eh, I know a person.'' Naruto shrugged and cast a glance towards Sasuke, who had been standing next to them the hold time. The Uchiha flipped him off. Snorting, the blond turned back to Kiba.

''Man, you've changed!''

''You mean these?'' Kiba asked, pointing to two red triangles on his cheeks. ''So I got a few tattoos, died my hair a bit darker and got a girlfriend. I ain't that different!''

''A girlfriend? You? '' the blond asked excitedly. The brunet had been his best friend in high-school, but they had lost contact after graduation.

''Of course me.''

''Who is it?'' Naruto asked excitedly.

''You remember Neji?''

''Yeah, sure.''

''I'm dating his cousin, Hinata.'' Kiba grinned.

''Does Neji know?'' Naruto asked him.

''...Kinda...'' the brunet muttered quietly.

''What do you mean 'kinda' ?''

Kiba shifted uncomfortably. ''Well, Neji knows that Hinata is dating _someone_, but he doesn't know it's me.''

''Oh man, watch your back. Remember when Neji beat up a dude for groping Hinata's ass in public?'' Naruto was smirking now. The older Hyuuga was known of being very protective of his cousin.

''Yeah...You won't tell him right?''

Naruto grinned evilly. ''I don't know, maybe I'll forget...''

''I'll buy you a week's worth of ramen.''

The blond's face lit up. ''Deal!''

Sasuke had been watching the whole conversation and decided that he had had enough company for the day.

''Dobe, I am going to wait at your car. If you aren't there in an hour, I'll hotwire it and go back without you." Sasuke grumbled, prodding the blond in the shoulder. Naruto's eyes widened.

An idea struck the blond. He started hitting his pockets frantically, finally pulling out his cellphone.

"Sorry, phonecall." he told Kiba.

"Yeah, go ahead."

Naruto put the phone to his ear. "Yo Sasuke!"

The Uchiha gave him a blank look. "Faking a phonecall? Really?"

"Well duh, how else?"

"Just talk directly to me. Or better yet, say anything."

Naruto frowned in annoyance. "You son of a fu-"

"If you call me a 'son of a fuck' once again, I will punch you in the face right here. Have fun looking insane."

"...Gun. I was gonna say gun." the blond clenched his teeth.

"Good. Now, what were you going to tell me so bad that you had to fake a phonecall?"

"Right. Right. If you touch my car, I will kill you."

"Then be there under an hour." Sasuke stated plainly before walking away.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

If anybody didn't understand, Naruto pretended to be on the phone so he could talk to Sasuke. Because Kiba (or anyone around them) can't see or hear Sasuke and he would look insane if he started talking to some air.

YOU REALLY THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO LET THEM KISS? AHAHAHAHAHAHA no. Not yet, anyway. Everybody remember that Naruto is straight. For now.

I dunno, Naruto starts college and meets up with Kiba. I kinda like KibaHina, so...yeah, why not.

Yeah, I don't really have an explanation for this chapter. I wrote this one mostly during nighttimes when my family thought I was asleep. So basically, late night ideas do not make the best chapters. Sorry.


	10. First Day

**Aaww yeeeeaaaahhh new chapter!**

**I was really behind schedule with this one, it took me a week longer than I expected. At least I finished it!**

**Disclaimer: Ehehehehehehehe no.**

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"Whaddaya mean that you're still living with your parents? You're 20 for fucks sake." Kiba narrowed his eyes at Naruto.

"Living with my parents is nice! I got the whole top floor." Naruto defended himself.

The brunet snorted. "It could be nice only if you owned a mansion. _Do_ you own a mansion? I doubt it."

"Actually, I do."

"_What_?" Kiba stopped dead in his tracks, causing the person behind to collide into him. Muttering an apology, he jogged over to Naruto's side, since the blond hadn't slowed down.

"When the _fuck_ did you get a mansion?" he hissed to the blond.

"About three years ago."

"What the fuck. I knew that you traveled a lot after winning the lottery, but _mansion_. Holy. Shit." Kiba shook his head disbelievingly.

"Yeah, we bought it after dad's skiing accident." Naruto stated simply.

"You mean the one where he dislocated his neck?"

"And got attacked by a bear."

Kiba stared at him. "...He got attacked by a _bear_? Why the fuck does something always attack either you or your old man every time you somewhere?"

"Because my mom is too scary."

"...Right."

The two of them continued their walk in silence, weaving their way through the jam-packed hallway.

"Where the fuck is our lecture hall anyway?" Kiba asked after a few minutes. He and Naruto had compared their timetables earlier and discovered that they shared most of their lectures. The blond held up a finger and started rummaging in his pockets, finally pulling out a ragged piece of paper. Squinting, he studied the small print.

"Classroom 25c. First period 's math. Starts in 15 minutes." Naruto read, stuffing the frayed paper back into his brunet groaned loudly.

"Man, fuck math."

"Yep."

"You think I could skip?"

"Don't you fucking dare leave me there alone." Naruto snarled at him.

"Separation issues much?" Kiba smirked at the blond's pissed off expression, dodging the fist that came towards his face.

"If you were as short as your temper, I'd step on you by accident." the brunet teased him. Naruto glared daggers at Kiba.

"So you don't like being called short?" a voice asked from behind him.

"Or cute." the blond pressed through clenched teeth. Before realizing what he had just said. Whirling around, he came face-to-face with Sasuke.

But not exactly. The boy had pale skin, dark hair and black eyes, but he lacked a certain something that Naruto couldn't quite place. The smile that the boy wore seemed oddly fake and strained.

_Uchiha-ness. That's what he's missing,_ slipped through Naruto's mind. _Wait. What the hell is Uchiha-ness?_

"Who the hell are you?" Kiba asked rudely.

"I'm Sai."

"I'm Naruto and this is Kiba." the blond waved a hand towards himself and the tattooed boy. Sai's fake smile widened a bit.

"So you don't like being called cute? Why not?" the raven asked.

"Do I _look_ like cute? No. I'm a lot of things, but definitely not _cute_." Naruto pouted.

Sai took a few steps towards the blond, only inches away from the smaller man.

"Why don't you like being called cute? If you were mine, I'd call you cute everyday." he said silkily. Bringing a hand up to cup the tan cheek, Sai ran his thumb over the whisker-like scars.

It took a moment for Naruto to realize what was going on. He stumbled backwards with a loud yelp.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" Naruto shrieked, clearly terrified. The raven tilted his head.

"I'm just complimenting you." Sai's smile even widened.

"I'm straight!" the Uzumaki hollered angrily.

"You're cute enough to be a girl. Are you a girl?"

"WHAT THE HELL? I'M DEFINITELY A GUY!" Naruto yelled at the raven.

"Then you presumably have a penis."

"YES I DO HAVE A PENIS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"

"Then I'm not interested in you." Sai said unexpectedly. The blond blinked twice in surprise.

"Huh?"

"I said that I'm not interested in you. If you were a girl, I would be." the raven commented, the fake smile slowly disappearing.

"Actually, no. I still wouldn't be, even if you were a girl."

"Then why the fuck did you just do that?" Naruto asked, scratching his head is confusion.

"I was dared to." Sai stated plainly.

"Wha-?" Naruto and Kiba gaped in confusion.

"GODDAMMIT SAI! I JUST LOST 20 BUCKS BECAUSE OF YOU!"

A loud yell sounded from along the hallway. Everyone whipped their heads to see the source of the noise. A furious-looking girl with pink hair stomped towards them, followed by a blond who was wearing a very smug grin. Reaching the three boys, the first thing the pinkette did was flip off Sai.

"Sakura, calm down. You suggested this bet after all." the blond girl sighed, moving straight to Sai's side. The raven put an arm around the girl's shoulder, pulling her against him.

"Shut up Ino-pig! I didn't think he would actually do it!" the girl called Sakura snapped.

"Well he did, so I win the money fair and square." Ino giggled slightly.

"Excuse me, but what the fuck is going on?" Naruto asked suddenly.

The three newcomers turned towards Kiba and Naruto. The blond girl smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, I guess I should explain. Sakura here," she waved a hand at the pinkette, "bet 20 bucks that my boyfriend Sai wouldn't go up to a random boy and try to hit on him. Well, Sai did it, so we got 20 bucks."

Sai scratched his head in an awkward matter. "I'm sorry Ino, I tried to pick the boy who looked the most like you...this was as close as I got."

"You're such a charmer." his girlfriend grinned, though she was visibly pleased.

"Ugh, if you two _lovebirds_ are done, we need to get to our class." Sakura rolled her eyes at the couple.

"You're just jealous 'cause you don't have a boyfriend. Maybe because of your hair."

"What's wrong with my hair?" the pinkette asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing. It just doesn't cover up your giant forehead." Ino smirked.

"Just because your forehead is covered up under your bangs, doesn't mean that the rest of your fat body is." Sakura snapped.

"You little bitch!" the blond girl shrieked, struggling in Sai's grasp. The raven was doing the best he could to keep his girlfriend from attacking the pinkette.

"Babe, we should get to class." Sai mumbled. Ino calmed down a bit.

"Yeah, I guess. Chemistry starts in ten." she muttered, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

"Come on you retarded fatso!" Sakura called, already running down the hallway. Ino wriggled free of her boyfriend's grip and sprinted after the pinkette.

"You're dead meat, forehead!"

Left behind, Sai sighed loudly. "...I should go. They'll rip each other to pieces. Or the rest of the class..."

Waving, he started running after his girlfriend and the pinkette. "I'll you see you later, short cutie!" Sai winked at Naruto before disappearing into the crowd.

"What the fuck just happened?" Kiba asked, turning towards Naruto.

"...Did he just call me a short cutie?"

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"I still can't believe that you got hit on by a guy! Man, that was fucking hilarious!" Kiba chuckled, opening the classroom door. Naruto glared at him.

"I'm still very damn straight." he growled angrily, looking around the classroom for avalible seats.

" 'Still very damn straight'? What do you mean 'still'?" the brunet snorted.

The Uzumaki blinked in surprise. "I'm completely straight. And I intend to stay that way."

"Oh really? What if there was a boy you would turn gay for?"

"That would have to be one special guy." Naruto smirked, spotting two empty seats at the back of the lecture hall. He headed towards them, Kiba trailing behind.

"Holy fuck, the lecture hall is almost full." the brunette noticed, stepping over someone's bag.

Reaching their seats, they sat down next to a spiky-haired man who was asleep with his face in his arms. Kiba studied the back of the man's head for a bit, before tapping him on the shoulder. The man jerked awake, lifting his head and blinking sleepily.

"Shikamaru you little fuck! You didn't tell me you started college!" Kiba yelped happily, pulling the spiky-haired man into a bear-hug.

"Nice to see you too, Kiba." the man called Shikamaru grunted. Kiba let go of the man, instead turning towards Naruto.

"Naruto, this Shikamaru Nara. Shikamaru, this Naruto Uzumaki." he introduced them to each other.

"Nice to meet you."

"Same. If there's nothing else, I'll go back to sleep now." Shikamaru yawned. Kiba frowned at that.

"The fuck you will. We've got lots to talk about." he whined, pulling on the man's sleeve.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed, laying his head back on the desk.

"Stay awake, you lazyass. You can sleep in class."

''I was going to do that as well.'' the brunette closed his eyes.

''STAY THE FUCK AWAKE! I WANNA TALK!'' Kiba shouted, whacking him over the head. Shikamaru grunted and opened his eyes.

''Tch...You really are troublesome.''

Kiba sat down on his desk. "Sorry to hear about Temari."

Shikamaru sighed and shrugged lightly. "Long-distance is possible too."

"Yeah but...it still sucks."

Naruto, who had been listening, nudged Kiba. "Who's Temari?"

"She is...was...is Shikamaru's girlfriend. Her family moved out of town, 'cause her brother didn't approve of Shikamaru." the tattooed man explained, glancing at their companion.

"Her brother? Isn't it usually the dad who's a bit possessive?"

"Yeah, but Temari's parents are dead, so she lives with her two brothers." Turning his head towards Shikamaru, Kiba continued.

"Man, I still can't believe that Kankuro would do such a thing."

The spiky-haired man smirked a bit. "It was Gaara, not Kankurou."

"_GAARA?_ HE'S BACK FROM JUVIE?" Kiba shrieked, nearly toppling off of his desk. Shikamaru frowned slightly at the loud noise, still obviously tired.

"Yeah, he's back and finishing highschool. You explain to Naruto.'' he mumbled, before laying his head back onto his arms.

''Gaara Sabaku is one fucking creepy dude. Never, EVER mess with him.'' the brunet shuddered slightly.

''He was in Juvie? What for?''

''He killed his dad.''

''HE KILLED HIS DAD?'' Naruto yelped, causing several people to turn towards them. Kiba shoved a hand roughly over the blond's mouth.

''Not so loud!'' he hissed, removing his hand.

''Sorry...He killed his dad? Why?''

The brunet scratched his nose thoughtfully. ''Well, Gaara is Temari and Kankuro's little brother. Apparently, when their mother died, their dad was devastated. He started drinking, and sometimes he became got violent. I heard that the Temari and Kankuro tried to protect Gaara, even though they got hurt much worse because of that. Anyway, when Gaara turned 13, his dad came home really fucking drunk again one night. Kankuro and Temari locked Gaara in the bedroom, their dad beat them up and broke down the door.''

Kiba shuddered and continued. "I'm not really sure what happened, just that Gaara saw the others and snapped. All I'm sure of is that when Gaara finished with his dad, the bastards head was beaten to a pulp. They had to ID him by his fingerprints."

"...He beat his dad to death?" Naruto looked horrified.

"Yup. With a small statue."

"That's messed up."

"Scary as fuck. Anyway, the judge counted it as self-defense and he got three years in Juvie." the brunet finished.

"Three? Isn't that a bit...short for murder?"

"First offense, self defense, and the police found evidence that his dad had abused them for years. They couldn't clear him of all charges, obviously, but he was given as little time as possible."

"...And Shikamaru's dating his sister." the blond shook his head disbelievingly.

"Brave fucker."

Naruto snorted, realizing the hidden joke.

"How much does Gaara like you?" Kiba turned to Shikamaru.

"Enough to not attack me." the brunette answered without opening his eyes.

"Good enough. I've lost in touch with way too many friends, no way in hell am I gonna lose you two." Kiba grinned at Naruto and Shikamaru.

"So you're not going to count in Choji?" the spiky-haired man smirked slightly.

"Choji 's here?" the tattooed man's face lit up. "Where?"

"Probably in physics."

"Since when does he take physics?"

"Since today."

"...Fucking smartass." Kiba huffed.

"True. I'm going back to sleep." Shikamaru yawned, closing his eyes.

"I'll wake you up if you have to answer a question."

"Troublesome..." the brunette mumbled before his breathing evened out.

"Just leave him, he does that all the time." Kiba said to Naruto.

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"That was _hell_. I never want to see another math problem again." Kiba whined.

"...We only had to introduce ourselves." Naruto stated blankly.

The brunet glared him. "Don't fucking ruin my mood."

"What mood?"

"My 'math-is-finally-over' mood."

"You mean the one where you look like you swallowed a fishbone?" Naruto snorted.

"Wha- I do NOT look like I swallowed a fishbone!" Kiba hollered.

"Sure you do. You do this weird thing with your mouth."

"It's called smiling, asshole."

"It looks like you're choking."

"Oh fuck you."

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**Hope you liked it! **

**If you didn't know, Juvie is basically a prison for underage people. IDK why, I just felt that Gaara fit well with a criminal background. Sorry...**

**Now, I got a question about Sakura. Do you want any Sakura bashing or not? Answer in reviews.**

**Anyway. I found out that brunette and brunet mean different things, but since my autocorrect counted them both as correct, I didn't know at first. But they are really similar, so I'm not going to bother rewriting the previous chapter. 'Brunet' is a word for any kind of person with dark hair. 'Brunette' is usually a male with dark hair and darker skin. Not always, but still.**

**Ok, I'm done. Until next time my dear readers! **


	11. Little Talks

**Hi again! Man, I'm so late, I could be pregnant...**

**Anyway, I'm really sorry, but this chapter is really short. I kinda ran out of things to use in this one, but I swear, the next one will be much longer. **

**Disclaimer: Nope **

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"Hey, isn't that the girl we met earlier?" Naruto nudged Kiba and pointed towards a pink-haired girl.

"...Maybe, I can't tell from here." Kiba answered, unwrapping a candy bar.

"Oh come on, how many pink-haired people have you seen here? It's definitely her." the blond whined.

"So?" the tattooed man took a bite of the chocolate.

"She's cute."

"I have Hinata."

"I know that, that's why I'm asking fot help." Naruto sighed, glancing at the pinkette.

"You. Asking for help on girls." Kiba stared at him.

"Yeah, it's been a long time since I tried to seduce somebody."

_Not counting Sasuke. _Naruto thought. _Wait. What?_

"So what do ya need my help for?" the brunet asked cautiously, not noticing the frown on his friend's face.

The blond straightened his face before replying. "I don't know, give me some tips or something. How'd you ask Hinata out?"

"Well for starters, I'd known her more than a day before I asked her out. Maybe that had something to do with her saying yes."

"...Wish me luck." Naruto grinned, not paying attention to the brunet's advice.

"Dude, you don't even know her name!"

"Well it's a good way to start a conversation." the blond shrugged.

Kiba shook his head. "You are fucking insane."

Naruto smirked. "Yep."

"Go get her."

"Definitely." the Uzumaki grinned, running a hand through his hair. Standing upright, Naruto headed towards the girl. The pinkette was sitting on a bench and reading.

"Hi!" the blond began in a cheery voice. The girl looked up from her book and nodded slightly.

"We kinda met earlier. I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Sakura Haruno." The pinkette tilted her head. "Weren't you that guy that Sai hit on?"

"Yeah...Why'd you make that bet anyway?"

Sakura scoffed. "I was hoping to get an easy 20 bucks. Apprently not, 'cause Sai can act like a real faggot if he wants to." she said.

Naruto frowned slightly. "You shouldn't call people 'faggots. It's offensive to gay people."

The pinkette stared at him. "Why the hell should you care? You gay as well?"

"No, but a few of my friends are." The two older Uchihas and their partners were a nice bunch of people in his opinion. Sasuke was a jerk.

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "Gay people are disgusting. I mean, what is the point of loving someone the same gender as you? I'm kinda happy that gay marriage is illegal."

"So what you're saying is, some people shouldn't be allowed to be happy? That's just..."

"If you don't like the way I think, you can leave." Sakura dismissed him rudely, opening her book again.

Naruto huffed as the pinkette buried herself into the book. Sighing, he turned around and headed towards Kiba. The brunet had finished his candybar and was pulling another one out of his pocket. Unwrapping it, he spoke.

"So? How'd it go?"

The shorter man scowled. "She's a bit of a bitch. And I only got her name."

"Man you've gone rusty." Kiba chuckled, biting into his chocolate.

"Hell no. She's just gotta get used to the amazingness that is Naruto Uzumaki!"

_She might change._

"Whatever you say dude."

"Oh fuck you." Naruto growled, glaring at the brunet. He grabbed the man's chocolate, biting off a big piece before Kiba could stop him.

"Hey!"

"Ohmigod. Hershey's is the best." the blond moaned thickly through a mouthful of chocolate.

Glowering at his friend, Kiba snatched the Hershey's bar back. "Get your own damn chocolate."

"Why should I?"

" 'Cause this is mine. You're rich enough to buy some." the tattooed man bit into the candy.

Instead of answering, Naruto flipped him off.

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"Skipping college on your first day?" Itachi asked his little brother. Normally, Sasuke was a person who always went to class, got along with his teachers and almost never got into trouble. The only one with a more perfect record was the older Uchiha. Itachi had always been the top of his class, getting full points on almost every test.

"Hn."

"Why?"

"Because Naruto had a passenger." Sasuke snapped. The day before, Kiba had pestered Naruto into promising a ride to college with his car. The blond made him swear that it would be a one-time thing, he didn't really feel like driving Kiba everyday. Besides, if the brunet hitched a ride, Sasuke wouldn't have a place to sit. So it would either be the trunk, or sitting in Kiba's or Naruto's lap. The Uchiha wouldn't fit in the trunk, so that was ruled out. Sitting in a non-spiritwatcher's lap would be strange.

And there was no way in hell that Sasuke was sitting in Naruto's lap again. Even though it hadn't been the worst of experiences, it had felt wrong.

_Maybe he needs to be sitting in my lap. _Sasuke's eyes widened at the thought.

"Goddammit brain. No." the raven smacked himself.

"Excuse me?"

_Shit. _Sasuke had forgotten that Itachi was still in the room. Turning around, he invented wildly. "I just remembered that I don't have any textbooks."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Use Naruto's."

"Hn. Don't you have anything else to do besides stand here?"

"Actually, yes I do. Kisame's waiting." the older Uchiha said blankly, turning towards the door. Sasuke sighed in relief as he watched his brother walk out the door.

Running a hand over his face, his thoughts returned to his blond housemate.

No matter how much he hated it, Sasuke had to admit that Naruto was good-looking. Small frame, blond hair, sun-kissed skin, shockingly blue eyes...Not many males could pull off a feminine look like that.

Too bad that his personality was a total bitch.

The Uchiha sighed lightly. He knew very well that there would be absolutely no chance of him and Naruto dating, partly because he still hated the dobe, partly because Naruto was straight.

_I've still got college..._

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**Idk, I used a Hershey's bar 'cause I felt like it. They are the _best._**

**And a note to one of my classmates. Qki, I based Sakura off you in this chapter. Why do you even read this fic if you hate gay people? I mean seriously.**

**The next chapter will be up much sooner, I promise. See ya!**


	12. Pancake House

**OKAY I HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO!**

**I changed the name of the fic and my penname. But for a reason. I'm 90% sure my mom found out, so my choices were either to delete my account, or change the names and hope that she doesn't find me again. I'm really really really sorry, but I had to. But let me tell you this: if I have to delete my account, I'll post the fic again from a different username. 'Kay?**

**Anyway, as I promised, this chapter is longer than the last one, cos I really hate myself for making it that short.**

**Enjoy!**

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"Look, I'm sorry I had to give Kiba a ride yesterday, but will you fucking let me out of the car already?" Naruto glared at Sasuke angrily through his car window. The raven had taken his keys before Naruto had had a chance to get out, locking him in the car. Now he stood, smirking, holding the keys teasingly in front of his face. Though he couldn't see through the tinted glass, he imagined that the blond was pretty pissed.

"You are not going to give anyone else a ride until I find my partner."

"A bit possessive, aren't ya?" Naruto scoffed at the raven's words.

"Unless you want to spend the night in your car, I suggest you shut up and agree." Sasuke growled.

"Fine, fine, I promise I won't give anyone else a ride to college until you found your soulmate."

"Hn."

"Now LET ME OUT!" Naruto screeched loudly, pulling on the door handle.

The Uchiha clicked the remote with a smirk. "Door's open dobe."

The door flew up, making the blond almost fall out from the sudden loss of support. Grumbling, he snatched the keys from Sasuke's outstretched hand.

"Fuck you teme."

The taller man only smirked playfully.

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"So, how your first day at college?" Minato asked his son excitedly, opening a bottle of red wine. The family of three had gathered downstairs to celebrate Naruto's first day at college. Kushina had bought loads of the boy's favorite food for dinner, seeing that it was a celebration. Ramen bowls crowded the dining-room table, leaving a drooling Naruto to pick from a big variety.

"It was nice! I saw Kiba and I met loads of new people too. There's this guy called Shikamaru - he's really frickin' brave." Naruto said happily, picking out his next bowl of ramen.

Minato furrowed his brow a bit, handing his wife a glass of wine. "How brave?"

"Well, his girlfriend's brother is a psycho, guess that's gotta count for something."

"Well that's...Who else did you meet?" Kushina changed the topic.

"Um...Well Kiba said that he'd introduce me to a guy called Choji, but he wasn't there today. Then there's this cute girl. But she has a boyfriend." the blond added quickly, seeing his parents' faces. Slurping up noodles, he continued.

"Her boyfriend is just _really_ weird. And I don't mean like a 'I'm-gonna-murder-you' weird. It's more like a 'if-you-look-like-my-girlfriend-I-will-probably-mo lest-you-even-if-you're-a-boy kind of weird."

His parents only stared at him. "What the hell kind of people do you keep meeting?"

Naruto shrugged. "Some weird ones, I guess."

Kushina leaned over the table, dangling the half-empty wine glass from her fingers. "So. You have a girl you like besides the one with a creepy boyfriend?"

The blond choked on his ramen. "Mom!"

Not disturbed by that, the redhead gave him a curious look. "Well do you?"

Setting down his chopsticks, he sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "...Yeah...but she doesn't like me that much."

"Aww, why not sweetie?"

Naruto realized that his mom had gone into 'gossip-mode' and no force on earth could stop her from chatting with him. Except salt ramen.*

The blond ran a hand through his hair. "Well, she practically yelled at me when I tried to talk."

"What didya say to her?" Kushina giggled, teeth clinking against glass, as she took another sip from her wine.

"We were talking 'bout a...um...kinda bet, then the topic went to gay people and she started ranting that gay people shouldn't exist and something." Naruto pouted before continuing. "That's kinda mean, dontcha think? Everybody should be happy, not only her."

The redhead hiccuped before speaking. "Well, not everybody approves of homosexuality. Of course, me and your father do, too bad that everyone shares our point of view." Pouring herself another refill, she scrunched her nose thoughtfully.

"By the way, you have visitors upstairs, right? Oh shush, I've met them." the blond's mother waved a silencing hand, seeing that Naruto was trying to protest.

"I saw that blue person earlier. Kise...Kiso...Ki...whatsis his name."

"Kisame." Naruto piped in.

"Yeah, that's it. He's nice. Makes the most _amazing_ sushi." she added, swallowing another mouthful of wine. Minato watched silently as the bottle emptied bit-by-bit.

"And that other guy...Zetsu...was it?" Receiving a nod, she continued. "He's a bit strange. Where did you meet them? I can't remember them from anywhere."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly. "I met them on the internet." he invented wildly.

Kushina narrowed her eyes before smiling. "That's nice sweetie. You haven't had visitors over in a long time."

"I guess."

The woman sloshed her drink around in the glass before suddenly remembering something. "Are they gay?"

The blond choked on the noodles which he had picked up again. Eyes watering, he panted out, "Kisame is definitely, Zetsu I'm not sure. Why?"

Kushina shrugged. "I don't know. Have they ever tried to force themselves on you?"

"_No!_ They're both dating someone. Besides, Kisame isn't the type to do that. Zetsu...I'm not so sure, but I doubt it."

"Oh. That's good. 'Cause if they ever touch a single hair on your head without your agreement, I'll find them." the redhead grinned creepily. Minato recognized the early signs of danger, before Kushina could start yelling and throwing things. Mostly vases. Knives or plates if she was currently in the kitchen.

Making his way around the table, Minato eased his arms around his wife's neck, gently plucking the empty wine-glass from her fingers.

"Honey, I think you've had enough to drink." the blond murmured softly, pressing a gentle kiss to Kushina's temple. The redhead looked at him in surprise.

"I haven't had _that_ much." she mumbled with a hiccup.

"The bottle's empty."

"...Damn. I should really stop spending time with 'sunade."

"She drinks a lot more than you." Minato shrugged.

"I should probably go to sleep. Naruto, the ramen shop was called 'Ichiraku' ." Kushina yawned, getting up from the chair.

"Really? Awesome!" Naruto punched the air in victory. Earning a half-glare from his mother, the blond smiled sheepishly.

"Goodnight mom!" he waved happily, as the redhead stumbled into the next room.

Minato watched as his wife disappeared through the doorway. Turning to Naruto, he ruffled the boy's hair.

"I'd better go with her. Goodnight kiddo!" he said and walked after Kushina. Stopping at the doorframe, he looked at Naruto.

"You'll find someone new, there's plenty of girls in college.''

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''Dobe, get up.''

Blinking sleepily, Naruto squinted to recognize the figure before his bed. Realizing that it was Sasuke, he groaned and pulled the covers over his head.

''Go away.''

''You're already two hours late for college.''

Hearing that, the blond yelped loudly and practically flew out of bed. Grabbing a T-shirt, he wrenched it on, nearly ripping a sleeve. Smirking, Sasuke stood back and watched as the smaller man scrambled around the room to find his things.

_I wish I had a camera._

Naruto slammed his drawer shut, knocking the small alarm-clock on top to the ground. Picking it up, he glanced at the time.

And froze. Three hours to the first period.

The blond spun around to face Sasuke. ''Fuck. You.'' Flipping the raven off, he stomped out the room, leaving behind a snickering Uchiha.

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''Stop that." Sasuke grumbled, massaging his temples. The blond's anxious tapping wasn't helping his headache. The smaller man looked at him, giving him a pout.

"But temeeeee, I'm booorrreeeedddd!" Naruto whined, steadily beating on the steering wheel.

Glaring at him, the raven continued rubbing his temples. "Well doing that won't make us go faster."

The two of them stuck in traffic. Had been for an hour already. Sasuke was slowly getting a headache from the blond's constant whining, not to mention the tapping on the steering wheel was driving him crazy. If Naruto would only just shut up...

The Uchiha sighed to himself, the motion not gone unnoticed by his companion. Naruto sent him an annoyed look. "Stop being so gloomy."

"Once you get a brain."

He earned a filthy look from the blond. "I have a brain!"

"Then learn how to use it." Sasuke snapped back. Getting another glare from the person beside him, the raven rolled his eyes. Grateful for the few seconds of silence that followed, he wasn't so grateful for the attempted punch aimed at him.

It didn't matter that much, since it just sunk through his face. The Uchiha had gotten used of being non-solid around the blond, due to Naruto's constant attempts to attack him. Still, being hit at wasn't very enjoyable.

Naruto didn't enjoy the counterpunch either. Rubbing his stinging cheek, the blond scowled before speaking. "I should kick you out of the car and make you walk there."

"You can always try."

"Damn you teme." Sasuke only smirked at the blond's angry voice. If it took his thoughts off of his terrible headache, then winding up Naruto was a more than fun pastime.

"You know, you should be happy I'm even giving you a ride. Kiba would be much better company than your bastard attitude." Naruto snapped, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm surprised that you two actually managed to make it to college in one piece. But they always say that God favors drunks and stupid people." the Uchiha stated boredly.

"So you're saying that God likes me more than you?"

"I don't like you at all."

The glare Naruto sent him was hard to ignore. "Fuck you. At least I'm loved by God."

Sasuke snorted. "The fuck if I care. I'm atheist."

"...Me too."

The next few minutes stretched in awkward silence. The blond had sunken deep into thought, snapping out when Sasuke waved a hand in front of his face. "Line's moving, dobe."

Grumbling under his breath, Naruto drove forward, only to hit the brake a few seconds later. The car moved barely 5 meters. The blond smacked his head against the steering wheel in misery and groaned.

"Fucking traffic."

"Dobe, you mind shutting up? My IQ is steadily lowering while you talk." Sasuke rolled his eyes. The smaller man lifted up his head and glared.

"Well too bad for you. 'Cos I'm not gonna stop talking."

"And what are you going to talk about? Weather? Gas prices?"

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto contemplated about punching the Uchiha again. Then again, the punch wouldn't affect him and knowing the teme, the blond would most likely get back at him. Huffing, he decided against it.

"I'm really getting tired of you being in the same space as me."

Sasuke snorted. "What are you going to do, exorcise me?"

"I can try." The smaller gripped the steering wheel angrily, knuckles turning white.

"...Is this because you didn't have time for breakfast? Because your ideas sound even more idiotic than usual." Sasuke arched a questioning eyebrow. Naruto opened his mouth to protest, only to be cut off by rumbling from his stomach. The Uchiha smirked slightly seeing the blush spreading on the tanned skin. He actually felt a (very) small pang of sympathy towards the other man. Being hungry for a long time wasn't fun.

Sasuke sighed. He was probably going to regret this later.

''Oi, dobe.'' Seeing Naruto's head swerve towards him, he continued. ''Breakfast restaurant in a few blocks. Takeaway is possible.''

The blond arched a questioning eyebrow. ''Really?'' Getting a nod in return, his grin threatened to split his face in half.

''Thanks teme! Maybe you aren't such an asshole after all.'' Naruto chirped happily.

Sasuke scoffed. ''Keep smiling like that and I'll need sunglasses.''

Said smile twisted into a scowl. ''I hope you go blind.''

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura picked moodily at her pathetic excuse her college called breakfast. Since she was staying at the college dorms, breakfast was easily gotten from the cafeteria downstairs. Too bad the cooks were completely useless at making proper food. The pinkette stared at the burnt pancakes, wondering if eating them would cause health problems. Deciding that one bite would't hurt, she bit into a burnt piece and gagged.

The pinkette was peeved. And not only because of the rubbish breakfast. It was because of boys.

In Sakura's opinion, she had been single for way too long. Only one boy had tried to get her during the summer. Too bad Rock Lee sure didn't fit into her list of dateable boys. Always jumping around with that jumpsuit of his and yammering about the springtime of youthfulness or something, Sakura tried to avoid the boy as much as possible. Sadly, Lee wasn't the type to give up easily.

Sighing, the pinkette pushed away her plate of burnt pancakes, pulling out her phone instead. Unlocking the screen, she smirked at it. 26 missed calls from Ino. Scoffing, Sakura dialed the blond's number and waited for her to pick up.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

_"About time you called back. Do you _know _how long I've been trying to contact you?"_

Sakura scowled at Ino's angry tone. "Ten minutes?"

_"Five-and-a-half. Hours. I mean seriously forehead, what the hell were you doing?"_

Leaning back in her chair, the pinkette sipped her coffee, pulling a face at the taste. "I was sleeping. Now waht is so important that you had to go on a calling rampage?"

_"Guess."_ Ino's voice was sing-song, playfully mocking her friend.

Sighing, Sakura ran a hand over her face. Of course Ino would have her guess dozens of times, finally telling her and calling her stupid for not guessing it.

Grinning, she asked the easiest question. "You're pregnant?"

_"The fuck no. I don't plan on getting pregnant for another five years."_ Ino snapped sappily.

"Manicure?" the pinkette guessed, knowing that friend was obsessed with her looks. Not unlike herself, but still.

_"Nope."_

"New hairstyle? New mall opened up? Sai did something really cute in your opinion?" Sakura heard an irritated huff, meaning that the blond was getting impatient.

_"No to all of those. Come on, guess!"_

"You finally found your second eye behind those bangs?"

_"I'm going to kill you for that._ The pinkette giggled slightly at the threat. Racking her brain, she came up with a single explanation for her friend calling her phone into oblivion.

Okay, actually Sakura came up with dozens of ideas for Ino's calling frenzy. But since most of them didn't make sense at the present moment, the pinkette was left with a few options. She sighed before sipping her coffee.

"New job?"

_"Bingo! IHOP, here I come!"_ Ino clamored happily, pleased that her friend had guessed at it. It took only a few seconds for the pinkette's brain to register what the other person had said.

"Wait. Waitwaitwait. You got a job at _IHOP_?" Sakura asked, really interested now. If her friend got a job at a pancake house, she could maybe weasel out some discounts. Blackmail Ino or something. Anything to not eat this crappy cafeteria food.

_"Yeah. Pay's good, so...why not."_

"So why did you call me 26 times about it?"

_"...26? I only made you twelve calls, then I gave my phone to..." _Sakura strained to listen as Ino trailed off. _"Hold on for a minute." _The pinkette heard a click, meaning her friend had set the phone down.

_"GODDAMMIT SAI WHAT THE HELL?" _Ino's faint bellowing carried easily through the phone, followed by Sai's voice telling his girlfriend to calm down. Sakura giggled slightly at that: she didn't like Sai that much. Sure, he was handsome in a way, but he really creeped the pinkette out with his fake smile. Sakura wasn't sure if she had ever seen Sai actually smile.

The pinkette snapped from her thoughts as she heard Ino start talking. _"Sorry. Anyway, I called to tell you that I might be able to get you a job there too. So whaddaya say?"_

Sakura stood up abruptly, causing the chair to fall over loudly. Squeezing her phone, she ignored the curious glances she got from the other customers.

_Job. I'm gonna get a job. At IHOP. An _actual_ job. _The pinkette's brain was still processing the info. Trying to make her voice sound as natural as possible, she answered.

"That sounds good."

_"Awesome. You wanna meet up there now?"_ Ino's suggestion seemed too make sense. If she was going to get a job there, she might as well look through the place first.

"Yeah. Meet you there in 30 minutes."

_"Great. See ya there forehead." _The line went dead with a click.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Man, this place is great." Ino commented, cutting up her pancakes. Sakura nodded in agreement. Sure beat the college cafeteria.

"So when do you start?" the pinkette asked her friend.

"Next week. If you want to get a job here, decide fast. The manager agreed to wait in case you decided that you want the job." the blond explained airily.

''What's he like?''

''The manager?'' Ino asked, surprised by the sudden question. Leaning back in her chair, she twirled her hair around her finger absentmindedly. ''Well, he's um...that's a hard question. He doesn't look that old, but he has gray hair. Really weird hairdo.'' Standing up, she brushed non-existent crumbs from her blouse.

''I gotta go. Sai's taking me somewhere.''

Sakura rolled her eyes. ''Sure, see you later.''

Ino picked up her bag and turned to leave. Looking back over her shoulder, she added, ''By the way, the manager's supposed to turn up soon. Find him and talk. Maybe you can get your own job here.''

Leaving behind a ticked off pinkette, she waved and walked out the door. Scoffing, her friend slumped and returned her attention to the plate in front of her.

Hearing the small bell over the door ring, Sakura looked up, hoping to see a man with gray hair. Instead, the two people who walked in resembled the manager's description. The smaller man walked in front, partially hiding the person next to him from Sakura's view. But the pinkette still glimpsed dark hair. Seeing that neither had gray hair, she sighed and almost returned to her waffle.

Until the person in front shifted slightly, letting Sakura get a better view of the man behind him. The pinkette nearly dropped her fork in surprise.

_Who the hell is that?_

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

***Salt ramen was actually supposed to be Kushina's favorite food. Hehehehe**

**Yeah, I gotta feeling that everyone's a bit OOC in this chapter. Or a lot...Damn...**

**Reviews would be nice.**


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